The wonders of technology allowed the whole school to be part of Thursday’s Assembly which commemorated the anniversary of VE Day, marking 80 years since the Second World War ended in Europe. With Years 9, 10 and the LVI in the Hall, and Years 7 and 8 linking up in their form rooms via Teams, our school community had the opportunity to come together in a spirit of gratitude for those who served their country, to remember all who fell in war, and to consider the lessons that our generation should learn from the experiences of those who have gone before us.

1945 is sufficiently recent for us to have film footage of what happened, so we got a flavour of what things were like in London eighty years ago by watching some newsreels from British Movietone, hearing extracts of Winston Churchill’s address to the nation, and seeing King George VI, Queen Elizabeth and their daughters, Elizabeth and Margaret, come on to the balcony at Buckingham Palace to greet the crowds in The Mall. Alongside the national picture, we gained an insight into individual stories by listening to recollections of some of those who were there in 1945, whether evacuees, SOE operatives, members of the Land Army or pilots, and whose testimonies are collated in the archives of the Imperial War Museum.

In addition to the school observing two minutes silence at midday, a time in which to pray and hope that mediation and peace are the paths followed by all, we also had a moment of recollection at Assembly, using one of the prayers said in the 1945 thanksgiving services at Westminster Abbey and singing a hymn that was sung on 8 May. A huge thank you is owed to Miss Vickery and Staff Choir who rounded off proceedings with a rendition of Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’, a song which captures the camaraderie and optimism of 1940s Britain, camaraderie and optimism being sentiments that we hope are enjoyed by all Francis Holland girls today.

Miss Boon, Head of History