ROYAL Navy warships around the world sounded their sirens and pierced the darkness with searchlights on Friday to mark VE Day.
From Brighton to the Caribbean to the Falklands, to the White Cliffs of Dover, the men and women of the Naval Service joined the country in remembering the sacrifices made between 1939 and 1945.
A large navy boat was spotted by residents just off the coast of Brighton and Hove yesterday afternoon.
The Royal Navy lost more than 250 warships defeating Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, and more than 40,000 sailors and Royal Marines were killed in the Atlantic, Arctic and Mediterranean.
While the pandemic forced large numbers of commemorations to be cancelled, the Royal Navy refused to let the occasion go unmarked.
At 3pm, Royal Navy warships and support vessels of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary at home and deployed around the world blasted their sirens for a minute to celebrate victory – the time marks the moment on Tuesday May 8 1945 when then prime minister Sir Winston Churchill addressed the nation.
The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines have produced special versions of We’ll Meet Again and A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, while the Corps of Drums will perform a special event on Horse Guards Parade, all while operating under Government rules.
At 9.30pm, searchlights on naval ships – both those in harbour and those at sea – were directed skywards for five minutes.
The war’s end marked the lifting of the blackout after nearly six years.
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