VE Day 80: "Everyone started jumping and cheering" - memories from RAF veteran Reg Lawrence

To mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day on 8 May 2025, we spoke to RAF veteran Reg Lawrence about the community support he has received from the Fund and his memories of VE Day as a teenager.

RAF veteran Reginald ‘Reg’ Sydney-Lawrence was 13 when VE Day was declared. Now, aged 92, Reg shared his memories from the day: “I was preparing to leave school as we had to leave at age 14 then. I was busy working hard before I left.

“Our teacher called us into the school hall and said ‘Mr Churchill has just declared that the war in Europe is over. You can all go home.’ Everyone started jumping up and down and cheering.

“I remember the street parties and people wearing fancy dress. I had made some homemade fireworks to celebrate, and they worked! We set them off on a bomb site.”

Reg continued: “It is important to continue to remember those who fought in the Second World War, because we managed to stop the fighting in Europe, and from that day on, no bombs dropped at night, there was no more sleeping in shelters. And that night for the first time in months we had streetlights on! It was the release of fear.

“Now, we can look back and remember how we lived for each day and hoped nothing happened to us or our families.”

Reg has been supported through our Telephone Friendship Group service, which provides peer support and friendship to veterans, with a weekly phone call in the comfort of their own home.

Reg has also received an Electric Powered Vehicle and a recliner riser chair, enabling him to be more comfortable and independent.

Reg said: “I have received financial help for which I am truly grateful. The mobility scooter has enabled me to regain my independence. It means a lot to me. I am so grateful to have benefited from the help that I have received and the friendships that I have made along the way. The Fund is truly a remarkable charity.”