Dorothy Garnet’s Story

Dorothy Garnet – or Williams as she was 70 years ago – volunteered for the Army Post Office at the age of 17.

“I had to fill the official secrets act, so we knew where the forces were going before they arrived there,” she says.

On that day in May 1945, when victory was declared in Europe, Dorothy remembers going to work as normal: “Our Colonel, he said ‘you don’t need to bother going today, there’s going to be a big announcement’.

“The next morning, we were in the square in Nottingham, that’s where I was stationed, and the Sheriff of Nottingham came out and shouted ‘the war’s over!’”

That’s when the celebrations began for Dorothy: “We were all there and all excited, and the band started, and then the next day all the fires were lit all over the streets. All the fires were going and [people were] dancing in the streets.”

This was a day that they had been expecting and looking forward to for a long time: “All through the time when we were working in the forces, not once did we think we would ever lose, because we used to say ’when the war’s over we’re going to do this’.”