麻豆约拍

鈥淚 remember VE Day because I was so happy.鈥�

Freda was eight on VE Day.

She had been evacuated for two years, but was at home in London on 8 May. She lived on an estate in London and the street was preparing to party.

She noticed a flat-bed lorry parked up on the pavement. It was to host the day鈥檚 entertainment of which Freda would play her part. Accompanied by her neighbour on the piano, she sang The White Cliffs of Dover.

鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 have been old enough to realise the implications of what I was singing, surely. I just knew it was something to do with the war.鈥�

Later that evening, she realised the war had been fought by soldiers from all over the world. She met an American serviceman. He was the first black man she had ever seen. She remembers his joy at being able to go home too.

Image: Freda Parmenter