Veterans’ war experiences captured in new Poppyscotland project to mark VE Day

Mary Sim shared her experiences as part of the project
PA
Ellena Cruse7 May 2020

A new project capturing the stories of veterans has been unveiled by Poppyscotland for the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Veterans’ Voices will highlight the experiences of former military personnel across Scotland in a bid to create a dossier of every conflict from the past 80 years.

Over the next two years the initiative, funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the UK chancellor, will collect first-hand accounts "so that stories can live on".

VE Day or Victory in Europe Day celebrates the end of the Second World War on May 8, 1945, when Nazi Germany surrendered its armed forces.

Charles Horne with a picture of himself in the war
PA

Poppyscotland's head of fundraising and learning, Gordon Michie said: “Veterans’ Voices is a unique resource of high-quality film archive of interviews with veterans living in Scotland who have served in conflicts from 1939 to the present day.

“Over the next two years we will capture scores of personal recollections so that these stories can live on.

Mary Sim said on VE Day everyone stayed up a partied through the night
PA

“It is vital that these stories are captured now before they can no longer be told, ensuring greater understanding for future generations.

“What’s more, our research has shown that the public are just as keen to understand more about the experiences of our veterans from recent conflicts as they are from stories of life during the Second World War.”

Photo of Ian Forsyth who shared his story as part of the Poppyscotland Veterans' Voices project
PA

With VE Day celebrations taking place on Friday, the first three Veterans’ Voices stories broadcast will be from Second World War veterans Mary Sim, Charles Horne and Ian Forsyth.

Speaking about VE Day itself in the film, Mrs Sim said: “The night that war finished we never went to bed. We were out partying all night.

Ian Forsyth while serving as a young man
PA

“The officers invited us into the officers’ mess. Now that was the holiest of holies and if you were non-commissioned you were never invited into the officers’ mess.

“But we were all invited, and I’ve got a photograph there showing me and some of my colleagues the night war ended.”

The project will feature prominently on Bud, the charity’s mobile museum, which reaches more than 30,000 individuals a year through school visits and public events.

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