British VE-Day street party with bonfire, May 1945 [Public domain]
On 8 May 1945, in a speech to the House of Commons that was also broadcast on the BBC, Winston Churchill declared that: “Hostilities will end officially at one minute after midnight tonight (Tuesday 8 May) but in the interests of saving lives the cease fire began yesterday to be sounded all along the front, and our dear Channel Islands are also to be freed today.”
Churchill went on to speak about the war against Japan continuing until the final victory: “We may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing; but let us not forget for a moment the toil and efforts that lie ahead.”