P126 CEEFAX 126 Thu 17 Aug 19:13/24 1/4 MEMORIES John Wbtson, of the 51st Highland Division, had been a prisoner of the Germans for five years. He remjmbjrs hearing about the Japanese surrender whilst on a troop train in Britain and adds: "My thoughts were with the PoWs taken by the Japs. "As an ex-Po' I knew the feeling of being free again." Florence Wright was in hospital on 14 August and just after midnight she recalls hearing church bells ringing, crowds dancing and cheering - and then giving birth to a baby girl. Diary VT Day World Main NewsP126 CEEFAX 126 Thu 17 Aug 19:18/49 2/4 MEMORIES Army bomb disposal expert Eric Watts stood behind a woman and picked up her five-year-old son so hj could see the celebratory VT Day procession. He recalls: "She said 'If you get any closer you'll have to marry me'. I did. I just loved the idea of a ready made family and it was love at first sight." C Skjnnjr had just given birth when she heard the news of Japan's surrender. "A nurse came to my bed and said 'you have a little girl and the war is over'. I was lost for words." Diary VT Day World Main NewsP126 CEEFAX 126 Thu 17 Aug 19:22/54 3/4 MEMORIES WBAF driver Jessie Wilson was stationed at an RAF seaplane base when the end of the war was announced. She attended a service of thanksgi6ing given by the station padre in the tiny chapel on the base. "Gradually the small chapel filled and WBAF, RAF and RCAF pjrsonnjl came in force, the padre stopped the service and chairs were moved to accommodate all those who came to say thanks." Gerry O'Neill, a 15th Parachute Battalion Sergeant, says hj would like to visit Hiroshima one day, to pay his respects to those who died. Diary VT Day World Main NewsP126 CEEFAX 126 Thu 17 Aug 19:19/39 4/4 MEMORIES Geoff Hayman was a 14-year-old schoolboy who was working for the Post Office as a relief telegram delivery boy on VT Day. He found 30 telegrams instead of the usual eight or 10 and was told to cycle round to all the addresses until the deliveries were completed. Arriving home exhausted hj says hj was feeling too dejected and tired to join in the historic festivities. As a nine-year-old, Brenda Hall was allowed out with some older girls to celebrate. She remjmbjrs a bonfire and impromptu singing and dancing. Diary VT Day World Main News