Headmaster’s Notes: History is written by the victors

History is written by the victors

On 8th May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made his Victory in Europe speech, in which he officially announced the unconditional surrender of Germany and the end of the Second World War in Europe. And here we are, 75 years on. Our generation has thankfully not known the horrors of World War and this special VE Bank Holiday is a wonderful way of saying thank you to that great generation for what they gave to our country for us to enjoy our freedoms and liberties that, of course, we are reminded of in different ways at this moment in time.

In World War 2, as Britain faced its darkest hour, the nation pulled together like never before. 80 years on and we are facing our biggest peacetime crisis, that has brought about unprecedented change to us all during this period of lockdown. Now, as we did in World War 2, we are uniting in a common endeavour, finding a way to protect ourselves and those around us while every day our NHS frontline workers are saving lives. As the health of the country depends on it, social distancing is ironically bringing us together. As lockdown continues, they are so many examples of our community staying strong.

This could be our last opportunity to say thank you to the veterans of the Second World War, albeit from a distance. As a school community, we will never forget the heroes who gave their lives for us and for our children. We owe it to them to responsibly cherish those liberties they fought for. In World War 2, everybody had a part to play. History has shown that when communities unite against a common foe, we will prevail. This VE Bank Holiday weekend, we are reminded of the role we are all playing as part of the Prince’s Mead team. For our generation, these are quite possibly our finest hours.

Peter Thacker