This week stands out in history, the nightmare of German frightfulness has passed, and free people everywhere have rejoiced as never before – with a depth of feeling unique in its recognition of deliverance from evil. How Rushden and Higham Ferrers celebrated is told below.

A victory atmosphere developed rapidly at Rushden on Monday. All the factory workers were declared to be “on tenterhooks,” and in the shopping centre the tradesmen seemed principally concerned with decorating their premises and selling victory favours. By afternoon the High-street was bright with flags, streamers and window decorations, and in the evening the people of the residential streets began their preparations.

The confusing radio announcements created a curious state of uncertainty, but when, at last, Tuesday was named as VE-Day, the mood of rejoicing was soon apparent.

There was no attempt to work up demonstrations, but the prompt appearance of a souvenir “Evening Telegraph” edition, which sold out with a rush, seemed to be taken as a signal that celebrations might begin.

Young people, American soldiers and British “boys” on leave dominated High-street. Some walked arm-in-arm along the carriageway. Girls wore headbands and scarves of red, white and blue.

At first the general cry was “Do we work to-morrow?” It was soon understood, however, that the holiday had begun.

The father of three soldiers announced “I’m going to put the photos of my three kids in the window at home.”

First show of floodlighting – and a very fine one – was at the Lime-street works of Messrs. John White. Clubs were crowded and High-street was astir until eleven o’clock, but everywhere the emphasis was on “to-morrow.”

Victory Stroll

Tuesday offered early and genuine promise of fair, if humid, weather conditions. Milk vans making the early rounds carried Union Jacks, and by nine o’clock, when people began pouring into High-street, the festive touch was universal.

Half Rushden was “down Street” for an instinctive victory stroll. There were early queues for fruit (including oranges), fish and meat, but the main crowd was out for the simple joys of freedom and fellowship.

The girls had achieved wonders in red, white and blue dress schemes, and almost everybody wore a rosette or other patriotic device. Formations of Flying Fortresses roared over the town.

In the side streets people were busy completing the decorations. Some material stored since the Coronation in 1937 was put to good use, and particularly gay effects were seen in Crabb-street, Spencer-road, Griffith-street and South-terrace (where a communal tea-party figured in the day’s arrangements).

An Austrian flag was seen in Higham-road.

The early afternoon was quiet, but a matinee at the Ritz Cinema proved popular, and the audience appreciated the enterprise of the management in relaying to them Mr. Churchill’s victory announcement. Soon after the official message the bells of St. Mary’s made welcome music.

At four o’clock came civic recognition of the occasion, and thousands of people gathered as near to the Council Buildings as they could. The crowd stretched well into Rectory-road and down to the Parish Church wall. A few dozen soldiers among them, were perched high on the roof of the United Counties garage.

The ceremony was brief and simple, consisting only of a speech by the Council Chairman (Mr. H. Waring J.P.,) and the singing of the National Anthem, led by the combined Temperance and Town bands, who occupied the yard of the ‘bus station.

Speaking from a platform at the entrance to the Council Buildings, Mr. Waring opened with a reminder that, unlike the Armistice Day of 1918, this occasion was not the end of the world war.

“Even if that happy climax had been reached,” said Mr. Waring, “there would still be those for whom war has sad and even bitter memories of loved ones whose lives were given to save our lives; of other loved ones whose maimed bodies kept us uninjured. There may be the blinded, through whose total darkness we have the light of vision. In quiet and considerate manner, as we go through to-day, let us give a thought for them all.”

After a reference to those who must fight “an enemy as terrible and as evil as the Germans,” Mr. Waring said they thanked God that as a nation they had been spared once more from unspeakable evil, though at the beginning of the war this looked impossible.

Advice to Young

He hoped the day would live long in the memories of the young, because that was the one thing necessary – a long memory.

“You young people,” he continued, “will often be told that your lives and your manner of living will depend very largely on your own actions. You will be told that you must take a much more active part in the affairs of the country than did the people of my generation.

“No-one wants war, yet wars, even more terrifying, will come unless the ordinary people learn why they come. We in our generation were too short-sighted: I hope you will have world-wide vision. You know what is happening in your school, in your street; what is happening to your friends who live quite near. Get to know what is happening to boys and girls who are like yourselves except that they do not speak our language or may have a different coloured skin; children who live in continents the world over, but whose lives will inter-lock with yours at some point, and with increasing importance as the world recovers from war.

“If we get to know what is going on in the world, then the world may be kept sane. To-day we know we have been given another opportunity to rebuild. The work of rebuilding will be mainly yours. I pray that you may have wisdom, well-informed minds, and a high purpose of heart to carry out that task.”

The Council members supporting the Chairman were Mr. J. George (Vice-Chairman), Mrs. O. A. H. Muxlow, Messrs. J. Roe, W. E. Capon, F. Green, J. Allen, T. W. Cox, J. T. Richardson, A. F. Weale, W. J. Sawford, J. E. Dilks, J. H. J. Paragreen, E. A. Sugars, T. J. Swindall and A. H. Bailey, with the Clerk (Mr. T. L. Watts), the Chief Financial Officer (Mr. B. W. Williams) and the Librarian (Miss M. Perkins).

Homely Joys

Twenty neighbours of Manton-road had a sumptuous victory tea. Tables were decorated with the flags of the Allied Nations and the yard was bright with bunting. Knuston Spinney residents also held a party.

In the evening, thanks to the Salvation Army Band, one might hear for half an hour at the “Rose and Crown” corner anything from a hymn tune to “Simon the Cellarer.”

By 7.30 St. Mary’s Church had filled to overflowing for a thanksgiving service attended by the Council, and at the same hour congregations larger than those usually found on a Sunday began to express their gratitude at the other churches. Collections were devoted to Red Cross, Church Reconstruction and similar funds.

Preparing Hitler for a flaming finale near Rushden Hall

In the usually sedate Griffith-street a highly combustible replica of the same gentleman hung mutely until 10.30, when final justice was administered and body crashed in flames to billow out clouds of smoke and wake the echoes with sporadic explosions. A sum of £3 13s for the Red Cross was collected from a delighted crowd.

Other bonfires were noticed in Orchard-place and at the North end of High-street.

Night Scenes

From dusk until well past midnight the main street swarmed with people along its entire length. Between the facing shafts formed by the flood-lighting of St. Mary’s and the War Memorial, crowds lingered for hours. The bells, which had been chiming intermittently since mid-afternoon, had a dominating influence, and most people wanted to see the ringers.

Flocking to the West door, they found the ropes handles by six boys – members of St. Mary’s Scout Troop who volunteered for campanology about nine months ago. These boys, whose hours of enthusiastic labour won praise and gratitude from thousands of townspeople, were Harvey Meadows (treble), John Bayes, Alan Knott, John Mepham, Jim Bugby (captain) and Frank Murdin (tenor).

There was a remarkable scene after 11 o’clock, when someone pushed open the North door of the church and fumbled a way into the dark aisles. Lights were switched on, and hundreds of men and women, some with children in their charge, poured into the church, the majority going into pews for spontaneous private prayer. This continued until midnight.

Floodlit flags high over the Ritz Cinema, the brilliant John White factory off Higham-road, high-powered lights outside the Palace Cinema, and lighting effects on several business premises, notably at Spencer Park Garage, brightened the way of the perpetual crowds. Towards mid-night the young folk were roving in singing formations, stopping frequently for a dance, and at one o’clock the sound of singing was still heard by those who had gone to bed.

A jolly crowd of dancers filled the Windmill Hall in the evening. The hall was specially decorated and the Lido Players and Annies’ Band played for old and new dances. The proceeds will go to the Club’s Service Men’s and Benevolent Funds.

Wednesday was also a holiday, and celebrations continued on a much quieter scale.

18^th May, 1945

Victory Parade and Services
Thanksgiving Sunday at Rushden

  Rushden’s Victory Church Parade for Thanksgiving Sunday was well representative of those who have played their part on the home front, and the armed forces, too, had a place.

  More than a thousand people marched through High-street from Spencer Park, with the Union Jack, the R.A.F. flag and the British Legion standard carried at the head of the column.  The R.A.F. Maintenance Unit supplied a smart contingent under Sqdn. Ldr. G. T. Robin, the A.T.C. and bugle band, commanded by Flt. Lt. A. H. Whitton, having next place in the line.

  Members of the Urban Council followed the banners, and the procession also included Capt. A. J. Pond (representing the Regular Army and Home Guard), Police and Special Police (under Inspector R. E. Valentine and Special Inspector D. Chamberlain), National Fire Service (Senior C/O A. P. Timpson), Army Cadet Force (Capt. Moore), British Legion (Mr. R. Denton), A.R.P. Services (Mr. J. M. Bailey, M.C., M.B.E.), St. John Ambulance Brigade, F.A.P. staff (Miss W. M. Clipson and Mrs. Baxter), Rescue Service (Mr. T. Harrison), Wardens (Mr. G. C. N. Fountain), Nursing Cadets (Mrs. Jones), Women’s Land Army and junior organisations – Scouts, Guides and Brigades.  The Salvation Army Band and the Temperance Band provided music.  Mr. A. J. Sturgess was chief marshal.

At St. Mary’s

  There were three services, each attended by a section of the procession.  The Urban Council Chairman (Mr. H. Waring), other councillors and the Civil Defence section went to St. Mary’s Church, the Council Vice-Chairman (Mr. J. George), with a few colleagues and the other adult units filing into the Park-road Baptist Church, where the policemen formed a guard at the entrance.  The junior section branched off into the Independent Wesleyan Church, where a service for children and young people was held.

  At St. Mary’s Church, the Rev. Edwin Hirst, Vicar of St. Peter’s, gave the address.

  “It is fitting,” he said, “that we should be glad and rejoice at this moment of achievement to which God has brought us.  At this point we see one of our bitter enemies overcome in utter defeat.  Certain of the perils which have beset us are now past.  It may be that we shall not know how grave were those perils until the history of our struggle is recorded in full.

  “We know that our beloved homeland was in great danger and that there was an even greater danger in the threat to those ideals of life which are cherished throughout the family of nations which make up the British Commonwealth.  Even when the story is told, it is more than probable that not even the half will be related, for the sufferings of the human spirit cannot be told in cold print as can the sufferings of the body.

Fellowship of Suffering

  “This day, however, will have brought sadness as well as joy.  The Allies have been made one in the fellowship of suffering.  Buckingham Palace and the White House of Washington have given of their dearest and their best along with the highly placed and the humble of the earth.  Sightless eyes, deaf ears, injured minds, maimed bodies and vacant chairs all indicate something of the price paid for freedom.

  “We recall, too, those who have suffered and died in other ways, for defined lines no longer mark the fighting fronts of contending armies.  Regions of active service are within the range of the heavy bomber carrying its destructive load.  Thousands who never wore a uniform, even women and innocent children, have contributed their quota to the price of freedom.

  “After the last world war we talked much about reconstruction even as we do to-day.  Yet no one should simply accept these various plans at second hand.  We must examine them, seek to understand them, and if they aim at less than the true standards of life, strive to improve them.

  “Equality and freedom are oft-recurring words in these plans formulated for the future.  It should be realised that equality and freedom are terms of moral content.  We lightly speak of democracy; that form of government where the supreme authority of the State is vested in the people; but if the people themselves do not take their full share in the democracy, the way is prepared for the rise of dictatorships as evil as those which we have striven to put down.

  The Rev. E. A. Green conducted the service; Major S. Richardson, S.A., read Psalm 96, and the choir sang the chorus, “Achieved is thee glorious work,” form Haydn’s “Creation.”

Victory of Faith

  The same order of service, opening with “All people that on earth do dwell” and concluding with the National Anthem, was followed at the Baptist Church, where the lead was taken by the Rev. N. P. Goldhawk, Methodist minister.  An act of remembrance recalling those who lost their lives in the fighting, under air bombardment and in prison and concentration camps was a moving feature.

  Taking as his theme “This is the victory,” the Rev. T. S. Kee, of the Independent Wesleyan Church, said the victory had been established primarily by faith.  But faith which stopped short was not Christian faith.  The Germans had faith in the Fuhrer, in their “racial superiority” and in their destiny; but it was a faith born and nurtured in illusion, and it had turned to ashes.

  It might be that the days ahead would make greater demands on our faith than did the days of war.  The testing-time before us would disclose in the quality of that faith.  We should be a happy nation indeed if in the coming days we could say “This is the victory that overcometh the world; even our faith.”

  We were not fools enough to believe that from now in it was going to be plain sailing, and yet such was the nature of our faith that we went forward undaunted and unafraid.  We could go into the future with a firm belief in recovery and reconstruction – that out of loss and destruction new life was going to spring.  Perhaps the biggest problem would be to maintain faith in human nature, because we had caught glimpses of human nature which left us numbed and shocked – a terrible revelation of man’s inhumanity to man making countless thousands mourn.

  It was no use pretending that this devilry did not exist; such deliberate blindness was largely responsible for what had happened in our world.

  Christian people must believe in the transforming power of God – a power which could even turn a fanatical Nazi into a follower of Christ.  To believe in God was to believe in order and decency over chaos and tyranny.  To even contemplate the future without faith in God was madness.

  At this service the Baptist and Methodist choirs combined in leading the singing.  At each service a collection was taken for the Aid to China Fund.

  The children’s service was conducted by Pastor E. C. Crew, of the Full Gospel Church, and an address was given by the Rev. J. Jacques of the Mission Church.  The collection was for the Aid to China Fund.

Cinema Service

  The largest of all the thanksgiving services took place in the late evening in the Ritz Cinema.  It was arranged by the Rushden Ministers Fellowship, and the hearty singing of hymns which were screened made a great impression.

  Clergy and ministers on the stage were the Revs. E. A. Green (St. Mary’s), E. Hirst, W. G. B. Snell (St. Peter’s), T. S. Kee, (Independent Wesleyan), N. P. Goldhawk (Methodist) and J. Jacques (Mission), Pastor E. C. Crew (Full Gospel) and Major S. Richardson (Salvation Army).

  The Rector opened with a reference to Field Marshal Montgomery’s VE-Day declaration, “This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes.”  The Rev. T. S. Kee read the 12^th chapter of Isaiah; Pastor Crew led prayers of dedication and the Vicar of St. Peter’s took the lead in an act of remembrance, especially for those from Rushden whose lives have been lost during the war against Germany.

  In an address the Rev. N. P. Goldhawk said the past week had been an amazing one in which most of them had rejoiced together, worshipped together, laughed and probably cried.  He confessed that when he listened to the Prime Minister’s historic announcement on VE-Day he felt a lump in his throat.

  It was good that they should have rejoiced, he was glad there had been street parties and so on.  He was glad also that they had nothing to be ashamed of as they looked back on their rejoicings.

  The service they were now holding meant three simple things – thanksgiving, remembrance of the past 5½ years and resolve for the future.

Evil Broken

  An awful, evil and great power had been broken, and they were all head over heels in debt to those who had made this possible.  They remembered not only the victory but the loss and cost of that victory.

  “I cannot help remembering our defeated enemy,” said Mr. Goldhawk, “because I lived among them for a while.  I know they will be just disillusioned.  Their world has collapsed.  If you are a Christian you will know that Germany too is under the hand of God, even if it is the wrathful hand of God.”

  This country had got to recapture the spirit of hope, for fear and disillusion had been in people’s hearts.  It could only be done through God.  We could not play fast and loose with God, with God’s world or with our lives without suffering for it.  Every time we thought we could live without God we were doing exactly what Hitler did.

  Mr. J. L. Clipson accompanied the singing on a portable organ.  A collection was taken for the British Red Cross Fund.

Rushden Echo & Argus, 18^th May 1945

VE-Day Thoughts of Rushden

(To the Editor, "Echo and Argus")

Sir,—We trust you will kindly allow space for this letter.

To the kindly folk of Rushden.

In this hour of profound emotion, may we record our deep gratitude to you for the ineradicable memory of September 1st, 1939. Without possessions or any of the impedimenta which gives one a place in the society of people, you accepted us.

We have often tried to picture your side of the evacuation plan, when the sanctities of your homes were invaded by total strangers.

How beautifully you dispensed your hospitality, and how patiently you continued to bear your heavy burden. In a very wonderful way you seemed to get under the skin of what it meant to be an evacuee. H.Es., incendiaries, flying bombs, rockets, the everlasting wail of the siren, all these nightmare experiences are forgotten in the remembrance of simple human kindliness on September 1st. 1939.