These photos were taken my my Grandmother Eileen Read (or possibly her sister, Mary) who lived in Broadway Llangawsai, Llanbadarn Fawr.
Taken at a VE day party in May 1945, celebrating the end of hostilities in Europe, though an occasion to celebrate, this must have been especially poignant to the family as Eileen and Mary's father (husband of their mum Daisy) Richard was still a Prisoner of War (POW) of the Japanese at the time. and was to remain overseas until finally arriving home back in Aberystwyth in December 1945.
Sometimes known as 'The forgotten army', the War in the Far East continued for many months after the war ended in Europe. People were eager to move on with the lives after so many years of hardship, which meant that by the time of the end of fighting in the Far East, those arriving home were often not given the heroes welcome that they expected. Many POW's of the Japanese were given strict instructions by the Government to 'Guard your tongue' specifically instructing them not to speak of the horrific experiences that they had endured, leading to many keeping their experiences to themselves, with families of the prisoners often having to deal with the aftermath.
VE Day 1945 in Mrs Evans' Brynteg
If you or any of your family were present at the Llanbadarn VE celebration in 1945, or if you recognize anyone in these photographs, Simon would like to hear from you. Please get in touch with him via his website : https://www.richardgeorgeread.com/contact
Blog by Simon Burgess
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