大象传媒

Derek Chambers, 78, is from Kingsley in Northampton.

Derek鈥檚 earliest memory of the war is the Anderson shelter the family had in the back garden of their South Kensington home, set three feet down into the ground.

Due to how damp the shelter was he developed pneumonia on three separate occasions throughout the entirety of the war. Derek鈥檚 ill health prompted the family to get a Morrison shelter in the house, to avoid further illness.

On VE Day, when he was 8-years-old, Derek heard the news that the war was over in Europe at home with his parents. A party in his street soon followed, with everybody in his street making an effort to join in the celebrations.

Due to not having enough tables in this long street, they used parts of Morrison shelters to form tables, so everybody could eat with one another. After the meal as the night drew in, the neighbours all went to the pub and had a huge bonfire, with everyone singing and dancing around it.