PICTURE GALLERY: Diss VE Day 80 celebrations

The 80th anniversary of one of the most important days in modern-day history was observed by those in Diss and across the UK last week.

VE Day was celebrated in Diss Park on May 8, with hundreds of people coming together to pay homage to those that lost their lives in the war and during other conflicts.

Army and air cadets were joined by members of 1st Diss Scouts on a parade through the park, accompanied by the Salvation Army Band and led by bandmaster Iain Sturgeon.

Winston Churchill’s speech on that day in 1945 was played and personal accounts of VE Day were given to the crowd.

Mr Sturgeon played the Last Post as a two-minute silence was observed, readings were given and the military call, Reveille, ran out across the park before the town’s beacon was lit.

Robert Rogers, secretary of the Diss and District branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “The event went very well after some excellent planning by Diss Town Council.

“There must have been in the region of 500 to 600 people, who joined in with singing and a very rousing rendition of God Save the King at the end of the event.

“We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who supported the VE Day event.”

Along with the RBL, other organisations represented included the Royal Air Force Association, the Salvation Army, army and air cadets, Scouts, Diss High School and Diss Churches Together.

Shortly before the ceremony, people gathered for the unveiling of a sign at a new housing development in Denmark Lane.

The sign for Bombard Way was revealed for the site after a concrete base plate for a blacker bombard – a stop-gap, close-range, anti-tank weapon approved by Winston Churchill in 1941 for use by the Home Guard – was discovered close by.

The event also featured re-enactors, wartime songs and a model bombard.