The Day War Ended

One morning my father Frank Jennings woke me up early. “Come on get up, Hitler’s lost the war”. When I asked him why , has he sued for peace he said no “he’s marching into Russia this morning and it’s the biggest mistake he’ll ever make” and he was later proved right.

I remember clearly the day the war ended. We were expecting the end of the war and when we heard it announced officially on the radio it was magical. We couldn’t believe it. As the 8th May was my Mother’s birthday (Nellie Jennings) we had a double celebration. It certainly wasn’t a birthday she’d forget in a hurry.

All the locals from the village of Low Habberley where we lived and round about collected timber and that evening we had a huge bonfire in Habberley Lane near where Ferndale Housing Estate is now. Everybody was celebrating, drinking beer, smiling and having a right knees-up. It was an indescribable feeling.

For me it was a wonderful relief that it was over because I might have been called up on my eighteenth birthday which was on 6th July 1945. I was very relieved. I didn’t want to go to war. It was a day I’ll never forget.

This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Sue Broome of the CSV Action Desk at BBC Hereford and Worcester on behalf of Ron Jennings and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site’s terms and conditions.

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