Following Nazi Germany signing the act of military surrender in Berlin on 8 May 1945, celebrations erupted throughout Europe and North America. In the United Kingdom, over a million people took to the streets to celebrate the end of almost six years of total war. Street parties were held in every corner of Chingford, Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone with people singing and dancing into the night. Through historic photographs held in the Vestry House Museum photo archive, this digital exhibition reveals how Waltham Forest celebrated Victory in Europe.
On Wednesday 9 October 1940 a high explosive bomb fell on Sidmouth Road, Leyton and destroyed or damaged many of the houses. Over a million houses were destroyed during the Blitz bombing campaign and more than 40,000 civilians were killed. When Nazi Germany surrendered, street parties were held across the country and the residents of Sidmouth Road can be seen here smiling and celebrating in front of the road’s bomb-damaged houses.
As well as dancing and dressing up, many VE Day street parties also featured games and competitions. This image of a party in Albert Road, Walthamstow shows men and women taking part in a three-legged race. The bunting seen in this image is made up of flags of the Allied Nation, including France and the United Kingdom.
In this photograph of a street party, the residents of Cherrydown Avenue in Chingford have put up bunting, union jack flags and a large banner reading ‘God save the King’. After Nazi Germany surrendered on 8 May 1945, more than a million people joined street party celebrations like this one across the country.
Posed together for a group photograph, the children in this image are wearing military hats and other headwear. Brighton Avenue was undamaged during the Blitz and this view looking towards Hoe Avenue can still be seen today. Many of the children in the image are wearing paper tags, these could indicate they are evacuees.
