Celebrating Victory: Family Photos from the Conclusion of World War II 80 Years Ago

On September 2, 1945, Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender and finally ended the most devastating war in human history. As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of that day, we are excited to share a collection of remarkable historical photographs capturing the unforgettable celebrations of Victory in Japan (VJ) Day, August 15, 1945, and Victory in Europe (VE) Day earlier that year. These photos have been colorized and animated with MyHeritage’s photo features, giving new expression to the faces and emotions of those who lived through this pivotal moment in history. Through these enhanced pictures, we invite you to experience the joy, relief, and hope that swept across the world as peace was finally restored.

Many thanks to all our users who shared their victory family photos with us!

Richard Amos, Kent, England

“The photos below were taken the day following VJ Day in the garden of my paternal grandparents Arthur and Winnifred Amos who lived in my home town of Whitstable, Kent, U.K.,” beside the Thames river estuary,” says Richard. “Obviously, all the newspapers were celebrating this most welcome end to the terrible years of warfare suffered by so many.”

Richard’s grandfather, Arthur Amos OBE, had served in the Royal Horse Artillery in WWI, and in WWII was working in classified intelligence activities in London.

In the photo above, the woman on the left was Arthur and Winnifred’s daughter, Marie Hastings BEM (nee Amos), who was on leave from her duties serving in the British Women’s Royal Navy service (WRNS). Her husband Stanley Hastings was serving with the Royal Navy.

On the right was Richard’s mother Elizabeth Amos (nee Bibby), who lived nearby. Her husband Hugh Amos, Richard’s father, was then working as a British Admiralty surveyor at the Trincomalee naval base on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon), and he returned to England some months after V-J Day.

Marie is holding a copy of the Daily Express, and Richard’s mother, known as Betty, had a copy of the Daily Telegraph — both publications that are still in print today. Here is a LiveMemory animation of the photo:

In the photo below, Richard’s grandmother was holding a copy of the then Daily Record.

The little girl is Marie’s daughter Pat, who became a nurse and has spent her adult years living and working in Vancouver, Canada.

Here’s a LiveMemory animation of the second photo:

Philip Boakes, Middlesex, England

“This photo was taken in Fifth Cross Road, Twickenham, Middlesex — a town that has since become a London suburb, about 10 miles from the city’s center,” says Philip. “My grandparents Henry and Ethel Boakes with my father Derek and his younger brother Norman are there.”

“Being so near to London, they lived through years of air raids and on one occasion an explosion caused their roof to collapse, although the street wasn’t badly affected compared to the East End of London,” says Philip. “My grandfather Harry fought in WWI and was a member of the Home Guard in WWII. Their house was a modest one, but they were fortunate enough to have a very long garden and supplemented their meagre wartime rations with homegrown food.”

By the time of the street party, Philip’s father was 18 and serving in the Royal Air Force as an electrician, so Philip assumes he must have been on leave when the photo was taken. 

“Their relationship with their neighbors must have been close, particularly after enduring years of adversity together,” says Philip. “I find this photo poignant because it evokes a sense of community that has long vanished.”

Hannah Scholze, Wisconsin, U.S.

“My grandfather, Sherman Witte, was 14 years old when he rang an old dinner bell that was pulled out of the granary on the family farm east of Holmen, Wisconsin on VJ Day in 1945 to signal the end of World War II,” says Hannah.

Sherman was the youngest child of Gustav and Nellie Witte and helped his parents on the farm throughout the 1940s. They would have experienced the rationing of sugar, rubber, gasoline, and other items that were commonly restricted on the United States home front during the war. Furthermore, his father would have been one of the few people of German descent in the mostly Norwegian community in which they lived. Both of his sisters moved out to Washington D.C. to work during the war, and one of his brothers-in-law served in the Army from 1942–1946. “Hearing the news about the end of the war would have likely brought feelings of hope for future peace, safety, and prosperity to Sherman and his family,” says Hannah. Today the bell hangs in the Halfway Creek Lutheran Cemetery where Sherman is buried and is rung during funerals.

“This photo has always had a special meaning for me, because — although he would not have known it at the time — signaling victory over Japan would also mean the safe return of my other grandfather, Eugene Scholze, who was a United States Marine preparing to invade Japan when the war ended,” Hannah adds.

Sam Oakden, Warwickshire, England

“This photo was taken on Strand Hill in Dawlish, Devon, during a VJ Day street party,” says Sam. “It features my aunt Grace Combstock — who lived at No. 5 with her husband Cyril — along with my grandmother Mary Rowsby, my dad Chris Rowsby, and many of the neighbors.”

Sam’s grandmother Mary is in the back row, to the right of the flag, wearing a hat. During the war, she lived in Exeter with Sam’s grandfather Sidney Rowsby and their son Chris, who had been born in Dawlish in 1938. In the photo, Chris is seated in front of Mary. Standing next to Mary is her sister, Grace Combstock — Sam’s great-aunt — who lived at No. 5 Strand Hill, where the photo was taken.

“Grace’s husband Cyril and his brother Jim both served in the army during the war. Sadly, Jim was killed in 1944 in Italy while serving with the 1/4th Essex Regiment and is buried there,” says Sam. “Cyril returned home, became the local postman, and played football for Dawlish FC. While he was away, Grace took in two evacuees who stayed with her for the duration of the war.”

Here’s the photo animated with LiveMemory:

Maureen Dewell, Durham, England

This picture was taken on VJ Day in Edenvale Close, Mitcham, Surrey.

“My aunt, Audrey Cave, is seated at the front left of the photo beside her brother,” says Maureen. “She would have been nearly two years old at the time. My father, Brian Cave, was 6.”

Here’s a LiveMemory animation of the photo:

“During the war, my father was evacuated to Portsmouth to stay with his grandmother,” says Maureen. “Audrey remained in London as she was unwell at the time and unable to travel. She vividly remembers the terrifying air raids.”

Maureen’s grandfather, Victor Cave, served in the London Fire Brigade and was heavily involved in battling the fires caused by the bombings. Once Audrey had recovered, she and her grandmother Constance eventually joined Brian in Portsmouth, leaving Victor behind in London — a difficult separation for the family.

“Later in life, my father joined the Royal Navy, no doubt influenced by his uncles Bryer and John (known as Jack), both of whom were seamen like their father, my great-grandfather. Jack tragically lost his life at sea in 1941 at the age of 27,” Maureen adds. “My aunt also recalls the food rationing and how scarce provisions were during those years.”

Laura Halls, Georgia, U.S.

This photo was taken on VE-Day May 8, 1945 in Southall, Middlesex, England. The tables are set up on Florence Road.

“My husband’s family lived at 48 Florence Road,” says Laura. “In the picture is his mother, Hilda Spencer Halls, and his sister, Brenda Spencer Halls Fuller, is seated at the table. According to the family lore, they had a Nissen hut sunk into the back yard, where they would go during bombings. They say that once Hilda jumped into the shelter and heard bullets clattering on the roof. Brenda and her sister Pat were sent to the country like lots of young children to keep them safe from the bombing in London.”

Hilda’s and Brenda’s father, Charles Halls, and his father, William Halls, were on the local council in Southall. “Charles participated in the cleanup of an undetonated bomb in the town,” says Laura. “He asked to keep the nose cone as a souvenir, but was told no!”

Laura says that her husband, Les Halls, remembers hearing that several kids from the local school were killed by strafing, and the council sent out a crew to clean up the bodies. “His dad, Charles, and grandfather, William, were part of that crew,” she says. “Very sad times!”

Julie Johnson Wilcox, Utah, U.S.

“My grandfather, Robert Henry Pattillo, did not serve during the war,” says Julie. “He was in his early 40s and worked for the Salt Lake Tribune as a linotype operator at Salt Lake City, Utah. He was involved in setting the type for the newspaper he is holding in the photo below.”

But behind the picture lies a more interesting story. The happiness evident on Rob’s face was not just because the terrible war was over, but because his son-in-law, Donald, who fought on the front in Europe and participated in the most difficult battles of the war, would return home safe and sound, to Robert’s daughter, who was anxiously waiting for him.

“My father, Donald Gene Johnson, served in the United States Army during World War II,” says Julie. “He was only 20 when he plunged into the deadliest combat in Europe, landing with the 817th Tank Destroyer Battalion on Utah Beach on D-Day. He went on to brave the frozen hell of the Battle of the Bulge and the lethal fight for the Remagen Bridge on the Rhine, repeatedly risking his life in some of World War II’s fiercest battles.”

Roma Helfand, Toronto, Canada

This photo was taken in downtown Toronto in front of the city hall.

The woman at the top is Roma Helfand, nee Rosenzweig. She was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1926, and emigrated to Toronto, Canada with her immediate family in 1938 — narrowly escaping the terrible fate suffered by those they left behind, who perished in the Warsaw ghetto. Roma is celebrating the end of the war with her friends, who are holding up a newspaper with the headline “Unconditional Surrender.”

The Clarkes of Holly Road, Ellesemere Port, Cheshire, England

This photo captures a party organized by the residents of Holly Road in Ellesmere Port to celebrate the end of the war.

Most people in the photo are women and children, since most of the men of the town were still in the frontlines. “The males were far from home and most of the residents of the town in 1945 were the mothers and their children,” says MyHeritage user Derek Clarke, whose grandfather and stepmother are standing in the middle of the photo. “My grandfather fought in WWI, and in WWII he was too old to fight, but he worked for a company that produced oil.”

June Amy Richards, Perry Barr, Birmingham, England

This photo depicts another neighborhood party in England, this time at Dewsbury Grove in Perry Barr, Birmingham.

Like in the previous photo, most of the residents in attendance are women and children. June Amy Richards, 92, remembers this party well. She was there with her parents, and remembers how despite the tight food rationing toward the end of the war, everyone seemed to find an amazing amount of food to bring to the party!

June remembers that her father installed a metal “Anderson shelter” behind their house as the war began, and then piled soil over the roof and used the area to grow vegetables for extra food. She remembers having to get out of bed and run to the cold, damp shelter when the air raid siren sounded, and then wait, trying to get some more sleep, until the all-clear. She remembers feeling cold and bored rather than afraid.

Marilyn Byford in Chelmsford, Essex, England

The baby on the right edge of the picture is MyHeritage user Marilyn Byford, currently 77, from the U.K., held in the arms of her mother, Grace Reeve (nee Pilgrim).

The picture was taken during a party in Cramphorn Road, Chelmsford, Essex. Marilyn’s grandparents moved there with their children in about 1912 from Suffolk, travelling by horse and cart.

“When my mum died in 2013, I found a copy of this picture and kept it,” says Marilyn. “Sadly, Cramphorn Road, the place where this photo was taken in 1945, was demolished in the 60s and a new estate was built there.”

“My mother had memories from the war,” Marilyn says, “and she used to tell me how lucky she was to survive it. She was in a factory that was bombed — the siren went off, and naturally some people ran to the right, some to the left. She remembered there was a gentleman that said to her, ‘Come with me, dear, I’m always lucky.’ She listened to him, and survived, while most of those who went the other way died.”

Many thanks to all the MyHeritage users who shared these incredible photos with us!

How did your own ancestors experience the end of World War II and other pivotal moments in history? Discover their stories on MyHeritage.

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Source: My Heritage