The May 8 concert will include performances by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and The RAF Squadronaires, part of the Central Band of the Royal Air Force.
Veterans joined an armed forces charity as it launched a countdown to the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a full-size Spitfire replica outside the Royal Albert Hall.
VE Day, short for Victory in Europe Day, is celebrated every year on May 8 to mark the day the Allies formally accepted Germany’s surrender in 1945.
Doreen Simson, Ruth Barnwell and Henry Rice were joined by Traitors winner Harry Clark and members of the Squadronaires and D-Day Darlings to mark 80 days until a concert at the Royal Albert Hall to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day (Jonathan Brady/PA)
PA Wire
They were joined by 87-year-old Doreen Simson, from Sussex, who was evacuated from her home in White City, west London, at the age of four and separated from her brother when they arrived in Wales, where she was taken in by a lady called Mrs Sharpe.
“Thinking about my evacuation sometimes brings tears to my eyes, but as I wrote on Mrs Sharpe’s funeral flowers, if it hadn’t been for the war I wouldn’t have had a second family,” she said.
Henry Rice, 98, who served aboard HMS Eastway on VE Day, reacts to receiving a kiss from D-Day Darlings lead singer Katie Ashby (Jonathan Brady/PA)
PA Wire
Lady Walmsley, national vice chairwoman at SSAFA, said: “Each anniversary of VE Day serves as a reminder of the sacrifices made by the armed forces to ensure our safety and freedom.
“Eighty years on, there are few who will remember VE Day first hand.
