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Name:

Age:

VE Day 75

th Anniversary

Friday 8th May 2020

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Developing Responsibility; Caring about Achievement

Dear Latimer pupils,

VE day stands for Victory in Europe day and it is on the 8th

May. We celebrate VE day because on the 8th May 1945

Nazi Germany surrendered and fighting in Europe ended.

This was the end of World War 2 in Europe. The war had

lasted for almost 6 years and millions of people had lost

their lives. VE day became a national public holiday and

every year on the 8th May people all across the UK

celebrate, hang bunting and have street parties to

remember the end of fighting in Europe. This year it will be

75 years since the end of the war. In 1945, people were so

happy that the war was over and that the soldiers could

come home but it was also very important to remember all

of those people that had died during World War 2. Their

sacrifice helped to end and win the war.

We hope you enjoy the activities in this booklet and have

fun celebrating VE day with your family.

Kind regards,

Your teachers

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Contents TV Timetable…………………………….

Online Learning Resources…………..

Then vs Now…………………………….

Winston Churchill’s Speech………….

WW2 Toys and Games………………...

WW2 recipes ……………………………

Bread pudding……………………….

Eggless Chocolate cake…………...

Carrot cookies……………………….

WW2 Clothing…………………………...

Dressing up ideas…………………..

Design your own outfit……………...

WW2 songs……………………………...

Sing a long ‘We’ll meet again’...…...

Activity Sheets………………………….

Write a diary entry…………………..

Wordsearch………………………….

Colouring …………………………….

Bunting……………………………….

page 4

page 5

page 6

page 7

page 8

page 9

page 9

page 10

page 11

page 12

page 13

page 14

page 15

page 16

page 17

page 17

page 18

page 19

page 25

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TV Timetable 11am: VE Day: The Nation Remembers, BBC One

The BBC will have a 2 minute silence in remembrance of all those that

died during World War 2.

2:45pm: VE Day 75: The Announcement of Victory, BBC One

This is a chance to hear Winston Churchill’s victory speech once

again, when he addressed the British people and announced that war

was over in Europe.

3:45pm: Scotland’s VE Day, BBC Two

This programme tells the story of Scottish veterans, who discuss the

final days of conflict and their incredible stories during the war.

7pm: The One Show, BBC One

A special episode that will pay tribute to the heroes of World War 2.

8pm: VE Day 75: The People’s Celebration,

BBC One

Celebrate the happy events of 1945 with

popular songs from that era.

9pm: The Queen’s speech, BBC One

The Queen’s speech will be played at 9pm. If you are already in bed

then you can always watch it on Saturday on the BBC iPlayer.

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Online Learning Resources

KS1:

KS2:

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-h-4788-ve-day-powerpoint

Look through this PowerPoint for information about why we celebrate VE day.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t-l-53195-ks1-ve-day-differentiated-reading-

comprehension-activity

Have a go at this reading comprehension with an adult.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks2-ve-day/z7xtmfr

Watch this video explaining VE day.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-h-5399-ks2-ve-day-information-powerpoint

Look through this PowerPoint for more information.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/48201749

Learn how VE day was celebrated in 1945.

https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resource/t2-h-5396-ks2-ve-day-differentiated-reading-

comprehension-activity

Have a go at this reading comprehension. Read the whole text before trying to answer the ques-

tions.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/21/a1967321.shtml

Read this real diary entry from a child on May 8th 1945 and learn how they spent VE day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFaMjmBt2JU

Watch video footage of VE day in 1945.

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Then vs Now In 1945, Winston Churchill, the prime minister during World War 2, announced over the

radio that Germany had surrendered and that war was over in Europe. The people of Britain

rejoiced and immediately began to celebrate. They danced in the streets. Lots of people

gathered outside Buckingham Palace and waited to see the King, Queen, Princess

Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret. Winston Churchill was also at

Buckingham Palace and he waved at the people from the balcony. Some people had street

parties and lit bonfires. Others dressed in red, white and blue (colours of the Union Jack)

and hung red, white and blue bunting all the way down the streets. It was a happy time as it

meant an end to fighting in Europe. It was also a sad time because many families had lost

loved ones or their houses had been destroyed. People still celebrate VE day today

because it is important to remember all of those people that died fighting for our country.

What similarities and differences

are there between how people

celebrated VE day in 1945 and

how you are celebrating today in

2020?

What is the same?

What is different?

Fill in the boxes below.

Same Different

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Winston Churchill’s speech

Watch part of the famous Winston Churchill speech where he announced the

surrender of Germany and the end of the second world war over the radio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efvwJjzqKUk

Have a go at reading it out slowly, clearly and confidently like he does.

Stand up, hold your head up high and speak loudly. Do you feel powerful?

Yesterday morning at 2:41 a.m. at General

Eisenhower’s Headquarters, General Jodl, the

representative of the German High Command and

Grand Admiral Doenitz, the designated head of the

German State, signed the act of unconditional

surrender of all German land, sea, and air forces in

Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force, and

simultaneously to the Soviet High Command.

Hostilities will end officially at 1 minute after midnight

tonight, Tuesday the 8th of May. We may allow

ourselves a brief period of rejoicing. Today is Victory

in Europe day. Long live the cause of freedom. God

save the King.

If there are words you do not know then ask an adult for help or

watch the video and follow along as Winston Churchill reads it out.

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World War 2 Toys and Games

Have a go at playing some of the games that children would have played

Hopscotch:

1. Grab some chalk and draw this hopscotch pattern on the

floor outside.

2. Throw a rock into the first square (make sure it lands inside

the square and not on the lines).

3. Then hop through the hopscotch course but make sure you

skip the square you threw the rock into.

4. If there is 1 square you must hop with 1 foot. If there are 2

squares you must jump with both feet (1 foot in each

square).

5. Repeat these steps again but this time throw the rock into

the second square. Remember to miss this square out when

you hop.

6. Repeat until you have thrown the rock into all of the squares.

7. If you touch the lines, lose your balance or miss a square,

you lose and must start again.

Toys:

Children also played with skipping ropes, marbles, conkers, dolls, cricket bats, toy cars,

trucks and planes.

Hide and seek:

This game was very popular with children during the war and can be played inside or out-

side. Choose a seeker and everyone else needs to hide whilst the seeker counts to 100.

Make sure you are not the first to be found.

Board games:

Play a board game with your family. Families in the 1940’s played board games such as,

Monopoly, Scrabble and Sorry.

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World War 2 recipes

Try one of these wartime recipes. Remember food was rationed during the

war so that there was enough food for everyone. Sometimes people had to

go without eggs, milk, butter and sugar. Get an adult to help you.

Bread pudding:

Method

1. Put the bread into a bowl with a little bit of

water and leave for 10 minutes.

2. Squeeze the bread until it is fairly dry.

3. After, add the bread and all the ingredients (not

the spice) into the empty bowl. Add a little bit of

milk to give the bread a sticky consistency.

4. Gradually, add cinnamon until you get a taste

that you like.

5. Place all the mixture into a greased pan (like a

lasagne pan).

6. Cook at 160C/ gas mark 3 for an hour until you

see that the edges have become brown and

the centre is hot.

7. 10 minutes before the end of cooking, sprinkle

some extra sugar on top.

8. Allow it to cool. Finally, serve and enjoy.

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Eggless Chocolate Cake:

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C (Fan)/Gas 4.

2. Rub the margarine or fat into the flour, salt and baking powder.

3. Then add the cocoa powder, sugar, milk and water and mix it

altogether.

4. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the vinegar and then add it to the

cake mixture. Then add the vanilla essence.

5. Mix everything together and pour the mixture into a greased cake tin.

6. Put in the oven and bake for an hour or until a skewer in the middle

comes out clean.

7. Serve and enjoy!

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Carrot Cookies

Ingredients

2 tbsp Margarine

4 tbsp Sugar

A few drops of vanilla or

almond essence

8 tbsp Grated raw carrot

12 tbsp Self Raising Flour

or Plain Flour with 1 tsp

Baking Powder

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/ gas mark

5.

2. Cream the margarine and sugar to-

gether until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in the flavouring and carrot and

fold in the flour.

4. Drop a spoonful of the mixture onto a

greased baking tray and sprinkle the

top with a little sugar.

5. Repeat until you have used all of the

mixture. Make sure you leave space

Lemonade

Ingredients

3 lemons

2 oz/ 55g granulated sugar

2 pints/ 1.2 litres water

Method

1. Peel the rind from the lemons and cut them into 1 cm slices.

2. Place the lemon rinds in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over them.

Let them stand for 1 hour.

3. Boil the water and then pour over the sugared lemon rinds. Allow the

mixture to cool and then strain.

4. Squeeze the lemons into another bowl. Pour the juice through a

sieve into the sugar mixture. Stir well, pour into a jug and pop it into

the fridge. Serve with ice.

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World War 2 clothing

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Dressing up ideas

On VE day you could dress up in 1940s clothing or dress up as a soldier or evacuee. You

could even just dress head-to-toe in red, white and blue clothing (the colours of the Union

Jack) just like many people did in 1945. Here are some ideas to help you put together

your outfit:

Evacuee:

Wool cap

Shorts or a skirt/dress

Grey tights or long socks

Black boots or shoes

White collar shirt

Gas mask box made of small

Cardboard box and some string

Small suitcase or bag

1945 clothing:

Women wore trousers or dungarees so that

they could easily work to help the war effort.

They also wore dresses and skirts when at

home.

Men were mostly seen in their uniforms. If

they were not soldiers or away fighting most

men wore suits with a tie and a hat. For a

more casual look, men wore knitted jumpers

or a sweater vest.

Look at the pictures and see if you have

anything similar in your wardrobes.

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Design your own VE day outfit

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World War 2 songs

Listen to songs that were popular during the 1940s. Use this link to

find lots of songs from wartime:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/history-ks2-world-war-2-clips-ww2-songs-

index/zbg9gwx

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/school-radio/history-ks2-world-war-2-clips-ww2-songs-index/zbg9gwx

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Sing-a-long Follow this link to listen to the full version to the Vera Lynn song ‘We’ll meet

again’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsM_VmN6ytk

Or type ‘Vera Lynn We’ll meet again’ into YouTube. Use the words below to

sing along. Can you learn a verse so that you do not need the words?

We'll meet again

Don't know where

Don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some

sunny day

Keep smiling through

Just like you always do

'Till the blue skies drive the dark

clouds far away

So will you please say hello

To the folks that I know

Tell them I won't be long

They'll be happy to know

That as you saw me go

I was singing this song

We'll meet again

Don't know where

Don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some

sunny day

We'll meet again

Don't know where

Don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some

sunny day

Keep smiling through

Just like you always do

'Til the blue skies

Drive the dark clouds far away

So will you please say hello

To the folks that I know

Tell them it won't be long

They'll be happy to know

That as you saw me go

I was singin' this song

We'll meet again

Don't know where

Don't know when

But I know we'll meet again some

sunny day.

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Write a diary entry. Imagine you were a child in 1945 celebrating VE

day.

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Wordsearch

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Bunting Lots of people hung red, white and

blue bunting up on VE day to

decorate their houses and streets.

They used red, white and blue

because that is the colours on the

Union Jack.

Have a go at making some simple fabric bunting or print off the

design of your choice (page 25 or 26) and make paper bunting

with string.

Fabric (no sew) bunting

What you will need:

Material (red, white and blue)

Scissors

Glue or fusible webbing

2m String (or longer)

Iron

Method:

1. Cut lots of triangles out of the fabric. Make sure they are all the same

size.

2. Cut off the two top corners of the triangle (the dotted lines).

3. Place a piece of string along the grey line.

4. Put glue along the top of the fabric or you could you fusible webbing

(this becomes sticky when ironed).

5. Fold over the top part of the triangle so that it is folded over the string

and press down. If you used webbing you need to now iron down the

flap.

6. Repeat this process all the way along you piece of string.

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