大象传媒

Diana McCulloch was six-years-old on VE Day. Having been born in March 1939, she had no experience of anything other than the war that had been raging her entire life.

In her home town of New Brighton, she remembers the day it all came to an end: 鈥淥ne day there was great excitement saying it鈥檚 over it鈥檚 over!鈥�

Like a lot of Merseyside, the coastal resort had been devastated by enemy bombs: 鈥淚n Hope Street in New Brighton, that鈥檚 where my great-grandma lived, and her house had been bombed. The odd numbers, the odd side had been bombed, the even side鈥檚 still standing where Auntie lived and other grandma lived down the road.鈥�

This was where they were to hold their celebrations the day the war in Europe ended: 鈥淭hey had a bonfire, right in front of the bombed houses, a big bonfire. There were no fireworks, but everyone was singing and dancing. We鈥檇 never seen any bonfires.鈥�

It was a few days later when Diana was to see something else that she鈥檇 never seen before 鈥� streetlights.

鈥淭hey must have waited 鈥榯il it went dark, we went on a yellow bus, a Wallasey bus and we only went to Hamilton Square Birkenhead, and there was just lights, streetlights which you see all the time now 鈥� I couldn鈥檛 believe it. I must have spent the first 6 years of my life in the dark almost!鈥�

Image: A young Diana

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