May 8 marks the 75th anniversary of VE Day – Victory in Europe Day - ending the Second World War in the European theatre of operations after nearly six years of bloody conflict.
As the Allied forces advanced, on both the Eastern and Western fronts, Hitler committed suicide in a bunker on April 30, 1945, but it wasn’t until May 7 that the German army agreed to an unconditional surrender, with “all forces under German control to cease active operations at 23:01 Central European time on May 8, 1945.”
In fact, pockets of fighting continued for days after the surrender.
The German Army Group Centre, under Generalfieldmarschall Ferdinand Schörner did not surrender until May 11, although Schörner abandoned his command and fled to Austria.
The last battle in Czechoslovakia took place on May 12.
And the German garrison on Alderney, one of the Channel Islands, didn’t surrender until May 16.
There was even a final European battle on May 25, between the Allied Yugoslav Army and the Croatian Armed Forces – which ended with the Croatian forces fleeing into the forest.
There were celebrations on VE Day in both Europe and America, but not for Second World War veteran Les Buxton.
Buxton, who grew up in Britain, was conscripted into the British Royal Navy in 1943 at the age of 18. He became a Marine Engineering Technician aboard a Navy destroyer, and took part in the D-Day invasion, on June 6, 1944, providing support to the landing forces.
But long before the Germans surrendered, his ship had sailed for the Pacific.
Serving on HMS Ursa, Buxton and the rest of the crew learned about Germany’s surrender on May 9. “I was in the Pacific, and so we were a day later,” he said. “We were at action stations, against a Japanese submarine attack.”
With the war against Japan still raging, Buxton said, “We didn’t celebrate. We said, get over here and help us out!”
He didn’t celebrate until VJ Day – Victory in Japan Day – on August 14, 1945.
Buxton has plenty of memories of that day, marking the end of the Second World War. “Ask me in August,” he said.
