London Victory Celebrations of 1946: Difference between revisions

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Though mainly a Commonwealth affair, most of the allies were represented, parading their national flag with an honour guard. The parade also included representatives from the USA, France, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway and Transjordan.<ref> http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/Victory_parade.html </ref>
Though mainly a Commonwealth affair, most of the allies were represented, parading their national flag with an honour guard. The parade also included representatives from the USA, France, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway and Transjordan.<ref> http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/Victory_parade.html </ref>


Of the internationally recognised governments sent invitations, the only ones which did not provide delegations were those of the USSR<ref>[http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/687736 “No Soviet troops for London’s Victory Parade”] “The Canberra Times”, 29 May 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.</ref> (the largest contributor to the Allied victory in Europe with 34.4 million troops<ref>See Г. Ф. Кривошеев, Россия и СССР в войнах XX века: потери вооруженных сил. Статистическое исследование (G. F. Krivosheev, Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century: losses of the Armed Forces. A Statistical Study, in Russian)</ref> ), Yugoslavia<ref>[http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2685569 “Yugoslavia annoyed at British Note”] “The Canberra Times”, 7 June 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.</ref> (which contributed more than 800,000<ref>Perica, Vjekoslav (2004). Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0195174291.</ref> soldiers to the Allied victory in Europe), and [[Provisional Government of National Unity|Poland]]<ref>[[Norman Davies|Davies, Norman]], 1983. ''God's Playground''. Vol II. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19821944 p. 575</ref><ref name="The Victory Parade">Rudolf Falkowski, [http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/Victory_parade.html The Victory Parade]. Last accessed on 30 September 2009.</ref><ref> [[Władysław Anders]], “An Army in Exile” MacMillan & Co., London 1949. page 299</ref><ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=LkoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=poland+1946+london+victory+parade&source=bl&ots=_GcCLqn9h6&sig=4ZLmpesnd8Kk2j_TZlWL2Ogj4zI&hl=en&ei=N-zgSpblAcKntgfMyvTwDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCkQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false "London Victory Parade: Britain celebrates V-E holiday with pomp and fireworks."] ''Life'', 24 June 1946. Retrieved: 21 October 2009.</ref><ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=LkoEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA32&ots=_GcCLqn9h6&dq=poland%201946%20london%20victory%20parade&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q=&f=false</ref><br /> the fourth largest contributor to the Allied victory in Europe (contributing about 400,000 members of the [[Home Army|Armia Krajowa]], <ref>http://web.ku.edu/~eceurope/hist557/lect16.htm</ref>
Of the internationally recognised governments sent invitations, the only ones which did not provide delegations were those of the USSR<ref>[http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/page/687736 “No Soviet troops for London’s Victory Parade”] “The Canberra Times”, 29 May 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.</ref> (the largest contributor to the Allied victory in Europe with 34.4 million troops<ref>See Г. Ф. Кривошеев, Россия и СССР в войнах XX века: потери вооруженных сил. Статистическое исследование (G. F. Krivosheev, Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century: losses of the Armed Forces. A Statistical Study, in Russian)</ref> ), Yugoslavia<ref>[http://newspapers.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/2685569 “Yugoslavia annoyed at British Note”] “The Canberra Times”, 7 June 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.</ref> (which contributed more than 800,000<ref>Perica, Vjekoslav (2004). Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0195174291.</ref> soldiers to the Allied victory in Europe), and [[Provisional Government of National Unity|Poland]]<ref>[[Norman Davies|Davies, Norman]], 1983. ''God's Playground''. Vol II. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19821944 p. 575</ref><ref name="The Victory Parade">Rudolf Falkowski, [http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/Victory_parade.html The Victory Parade]. Last accessed on 30 September 2009.</ref><ref> [[Władysław Anders]], “An Army in Exile” MacMillan & Co., London 1949. page 299</ref><ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=LkoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA32&lpg=PA32&dq=poland+1946+london+victory+parade&source=bl&ots=_GcCLqn9h6&sig=4ZLmpesnd8Kk2j_TZlWL2Ogj4zI&hl=en&ei=N-zgSpblAcKntgfMyvTwDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CCkQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false "London Victory Parade: Britain celebrates V-E holiday with pomp and fireworks."] ''Life'', 24 June 1946. Retrieved: 21 October 2009.</ref><ref>http://books.google.ca/books?id=LkoEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA32&ots=_GcCLqn9h6&dq=poland%201946%20london%20victory%20parade&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q=&f=false</ref><br /> the fourth largest contributor to the Allied victory in Europe (contributing about 400,000 members of the [[Home Army|Armia Krajowa]](of which 8,000 were full-time armed members<ref name="R. F. Leslie"> R. F. Leslie, The History of Poland since 1863 [http://books.google.com/books?id=0tYVKUsnw9IC&pg=PA234&dq=%22Armia+Krajowa%22+largest&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=NzzMR_mOIJGSzQSb7cSwCQ&sig=rLD9gO8sIve_RDxnvTLWfMeFlGg#v=onepage&q=%22Armia%20Krajowa%22%20largest&f=false]</ref>), <ref>http://web.ku.edu/~eceurope/hist557/lect16.htm</ref>
200,000 soldiers in the east <ref name="ZalogaLWP">{{cite book | author =Steven J Zaloga | coauthors = | title =Polish Army, 1939-1945 | year =1982 | editor = | pages = | chapter = The Polish People's Army| chapterurl = http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0850454174&id=AAdYFeW2fnoC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=first+polish+army&vq=counter-government&sig=qPA6i-Gms1D-8JEiRw58CNeDmvc| publisher =Osprey Publishing| location = Oxford | id =ISBN 0-85045-417-4| url =http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0850454174&id=AAdYFeW2fnoC&dq=isbn+0850454174&pg=PP1&printsec=0&lpg=PP1&sig=ajafnskh3BRg59sdnerIgirmLBc| format = | accessdate = }}</ref> and 228,000 in the west).
200,000 soldiers in the east <ref name="ZalogaLWP">{{cite book | author =Steven J Zaloga | coauthors = | title =Polish Army, 1939-1945 | year =1982 | editor = | pages = | chapter = The Polish People's Army| chapterurl = http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0850454174&id=AAdYFeW2fnoC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=first+polish+army&vq=counter-government&sig=qPA6i-Gms1D-8JEiRw58CNeDmvc| publisher =Osprey Publishing| location = Oxford | id =ISBN 0-85045-417-4| url =http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&vid=ISBN0850454174&id=AAdYFeW2fnoC&dq=isbn+0850454174&pg=PP1&printsec=0&lpg=PP1&sig=ajafnskh3BRg59sdnerIgirmLBc| format = | accessdate = }}</ref> and 228,000 in the west).


Revision as of 16:02, 22 April 2010

The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations.

The London Victory Celebrations of 1946 were British Commonwealth & Empire[1] victory celebrations held after the defeat of Nazi Germany and Empire of Japan in World War II. It took place in the United Kingdom capital of London, on June 8, 1946,[2] mainly encompassing a military parade through the city and a night time fireworks display.[1]

Victory parade

The first part of the parade was the Chiefs of Staff's procession, featuring the British Chiefs of Staff together with the Supreme Allied Commanders. This was followed by a mechanised column which went from Regent’s Park to Tower Hill to The Mall (where the saluting base was)[7][2][3][4]and then back to Regent’s park. It was more than four miles long and contained more than 500 vehicles from the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, British Civilian Services and the British Army (in that order).[5][2]

Representatives of the Greek armed forces, two in their traditional fustanella, including the Royal Navy.

Next came a Marching Column, which went from Marble Arch to The Mall to Hyde Park Corner[8][2]. This was headed by the flags of the Allied nations which took part in the parade, each with an honour guard (see photo on right of Greek honour guard). Next came units of Navies, the air forces, Civilian Services and armies of the nations of the British Empire. They were followed by units from the Royal Navy, followed by British Civilian Services, the British Army, more of the British Civilian Services, representatives of certain Allied air forces and then the Royal Air Force. This was then followed by a fly-past of RAF planes. The parade was 9 miles long and stretched from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace.[citation needed] In the aftermath, 4,127 persons needed medical attention and 65 were taken to hospital.[1]

Though mainly a Commonwealth affair, most of the allies were represented, parading their national flag with an honour guard. The parade also included representatives from the USA, France, Belgium, Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran, Iraq, Luxembourg, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway and Transjordan.[6]

Of the internationally recognised governments sent invitations, the only ones which did not provide delegations were those of the USSR[7] (the largest contributor to the Allied victory in Europe with 34.4 million troops[8] ), Yugoslavia[9] (which contributed more than 800,000[10] soldiers to the Allied victory in Europe), and Poland[11][3][12][13][14]
the fourth largest contributor to the Allied victory in Europe (contributing about 400,000 members of the Armia Krajowa(of which 8,000 were full-time armed members[15]), [16] 200,000 soldiers in the east [17] and 228,000 in the west).

Australian contingent

The Australian contingent was headed by Major General Ken Eather, an officer with a distinguished record in the war. The contingent consisted of 250 servicemen and women, drawn from the three services, including Private Richard Kelliher, who had won the Victoria Cross in the Battle of Lae in 1943. The Victory March Contingent sailed for the United Kingdom on HMAS Shropshire on 8 April 1946. On the return voyage sailors from Shropshire and the troops of the Victory March Contingent started a riot in Gibraltar. Eather refused to lay any charges or offer an apology to the indignant British authorities.[18]

Political Controversy

Further information: [[:Polish participation at the London Victory Parade of 1946, Polish contribution to World War II]]


The press at the time reported the Yugoslav government did not send a delegation, in protest about rising tension with British and Italian troops around the Istrian Peninsula,[19] which later became known as the Trieste Crisis and the Istrian exodus.

Poland was the only foreign nation to participate in the the USSR's Moscow Victory Parade of 1945.[20] Although the internally recognised government of Poland was invited to send a delegation to the London parade, the absence of circa 228,000 Polish Armed Forces in the West who had served under British High Command has proven controversial.[21] After British newspapers and public figures put pressure on their government, the RAF's Polish veterans were invited, but, according to some sources, refused to attend out of solidarity with the other Polish forces.[21]

Norman Davies writes of the invitation being first sent to the government of Poland in Warsaw "before someone noticed that the Warsaw regime had not been Britain's wartime ally". He states that "the faux pas was not corrected until the very eve of the parade", when “in consequence, a last-minute invitation was sent by Foreign Minister Bevin directly to the Chief of Staff of the Polish Army, General Kopanski, who was still in post in London; and other invitations were sent to the chiefs of the Polish Air Force and the Polish Navy and to individual generals. The belated invitations were courteously declined.” Four days before the parade Ernest Bevin, the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs wrote “His Majesty's Government still hope that it will also be possible for a party of Polish airmen who flew with the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain to be included in the parade.” [22]. Three days before the parade Hector McNeil, the British Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs said in Parliament"It is not true that we have not invited any members of those fighting Poles to take part in the Parade. Let me be quite honest. We have not invited the Navy and the Army, but we did invite some of the Poles who flew in the Battle of Britain, to march past in the R.A.F. contingent. The action was not taken to please M. Molotov." [23]

Davies also states that "the Victory Parade in London passed off without the participation of any units, colour parties or representatives from Poland." Davies says the only Poles who did take part in the parade were some “fliers and ground crew who attended in their capacity as members of the various RAF formations into which they had formerly been integrated.”[24]

Laurence Rees writes that at the time the Polish armed forces in the west faced the question: "Should they return to Poland, a country now with changed national boundaries and under the domination of the Soviet Union?" Rees says that the "belief that they were no longer wanted was symbolized by the omission of all the Polish army units from the Victory Parade held in London in the summer of 1946." Rees adds that Polish Royal Air Force veterans were asked to take part, but declined out of loyalty to their comrades.[25]

Winston Churchill, speaking in parliament as Leader of the Opposition, said he "deeply" regretted that "none of the Polish troops, and I must say this, who fought with us on a score of battlefields, who poured out their blood in the common cause, are not to be allowed to march in the Victory Parade." He also said Poland was now "held in strict control by a Soviet-dominated government" and that "we, who went to war, ill-prepared, on her behalf, watch with sorrow the strange outcome of our endeavours." [26]

Britain's Labour government argued that the invitation to the RAF's Polish veterans was not being extended to other Polish armed forces in the West as a necessary compromise due to the political circumstances of the day.[27] Britain's Conservative opposition criticised the decision, and spoke of British "shame".[21] According to one source, Labour Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin apologized to General Anders about the affair.[28] Many Polish troops, particularly those among Anders' Polish II Corps, publicly opposed the postwar peace treaties, which entailed their homes in the Kresy region being ceded to the USSR.[29]

Associated festivities

After sunset of the same day, the principal buildings of London were lit by floodlights, and crowds thronged the banks of the Thames and Westminster Bridge to watch King George VI and his family proceed down the river in the Royal barge. The planned festivities ended with a fireworks display over Central London. However, crowds continued to throng London and surrounded Buckingham Palace even after the Royal family had retired from the festivities. Many festival goers could not return home that night and spent the rest of the night in public parks and other public areas around London.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d “Colourful London Victory Parade” “The Canberra Times”, 10 June 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d The Official Programme of the Victory Celebrations on 8th June 1946 in London, England Part 1 Published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1946
  3. ^ a b Rudolf Falkowski, The Victory Parade. Last accessed on 30 September 2009.
  4. ^ "London Victory Parade: Britain celebrates V-E holiday with pomp and fireworks." Life, 24 June 1946. Retrieved: 21 October 2009.
  5. ^ Gaumont British Newsreel Last accessed on 23 October 2009.
  6. ^ http://www.polishsquadronsremembered.com/Victory_parade.html
  7. ^ “No Soviet troops for London’s Victory Parade” “The Canberra Times”, 29 May 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.
  8. ^ See Г. Ф. Кривошеев, Россия и СССР в войнах XX века: потери вооруженных сил. Статистическое исследование (G. F. Krivosheev, Russia and the USSR in the wars of the 20th century: losses of the Armed Forces. A Statistical Study, in Russian)
  9. ^ “Yugoslavia annoyed at British Note” “The Canberra Times”, 7 June 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.
  10. ^ Perica, Vjekoslav (2004). Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford University Press. p. 96. ISBN 0195174291.
  11. ^ Davies, Norman, 1983. God's Playground. Vol II. New York: Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19821944 p. 575
  12. ^ Władysław Anders, “An Army in Exile” MacMillan & Co., London 1949. page 299
  13. ^ "London Victory Parade: Britain celebrates V-E holiday with pomp and fireworks." Life, 24 June 1946. Retrieved: 21 October 2009.
  14. ^ http://books.google.ca/books?id=LkoEAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA32&ots=_GcCLqn9h6&dq=poland%201946%20london%20victory%20parade&pg=PA32#v=onepage&q=&f=false
  15. ^ R. F. Leslie, The History of Poland since 1863 [1]
  16. ^ http://web.ku.edu/~eceurope/hist557/lect16.htm
  17. ^ Steven J Zaloga (1982). "The Polish People's Army". Polish Army, 1939-1945. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 0-85045-417-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Eather, Steve (2003). Desert Sands, Jungle Lands: a Biography of Major General Ken Eather. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen and Unwin. pp. 179–188. ISBN 9781741141825. Retrieved 24 September 2009.
  19. ^ “Yugoslavia annoyed at British Note” “The Canberra Times”, 7 June 1946. Retrieved: 23 October 2009.
  20. ^ [2]
  21. ^ a b c Dr Mark Ostrowski [3]
  22. ^ Written answer from British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to question regarding Polish participation in Victory Parade [4] 4 June 1946. Hansard
  23. ^ Statement to Parliament by British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs [5] 5 June 1946. Hansard
  24. ^ Davies, Norman (2004). Rising '44: the battle for Warsaw. London: Pan Books. p. 507. ISBN 0-330-48863-5.
  25. ^ Laurence Rees, World War II Behind Closed Doors, BBC Books, 2009, page 391
  26. ^ Laurence Rees, World War II Behind Closed Doors, BBC Books, 2009, page 391
  27. ^ Statement to Parliament by British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs [6] 5 June 1946. Hansard
  28. ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2003/nov/08/featuresreviews.guardianreview2
  29. ^ Lynne Olson, Stanley Cloud, A Question of Honor: The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II , Knopf, 2003, ISBN 0-375-41197-6, Excerpt (prologue).

External links

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