VE Day retrospective: how one person’s story can bear relevance in all our lives.

Personnel from Strategic Command (UKStratCom) share stories of the people in their lives who had been through the Second World War

On the 8th of May, we celebrate the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. 75 years removed; it can be difficult to truly grasp the significance of such an event. The majority of us have no personal experience of the Second World War, but rather we gain an understanding through those who were there and who share their stories. We asked personnel in Strategic Command (UKStratCom) to share stories of the people in their lives who had been through the war, so that we might better reflect on the significance of what it meant to them to have achieved victory.

One person willing to share his story was Wing Commander Andy Crabtree, who currently works in UKStratCom as SO1 Portfolio Logistics, Infrastructure and Overseas Bases. Wg Cdr Crabtree shared the story of his father Corporal Ronald Crabtree, a radar mechanic in the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Volunteering for the RAF in 1940, Cpl Crabtree trained in maintenance of the radar technology that was so critical to Britain’s defence in WW2. Two years later, he left the UK for Egypt in January 1942. The first and second battles of El Alamein took place in Egypt that same year. As well as North Africa, Cpl Crabtree went on to serve in India, Burma and Nepal, working with Mosquito, Beaufighter and Hurricane aircraft. He returned to the UK at the end of 1945, his record of service book noting a total of 48 months’ active service overseas.

For Cpl Crabtree, in just two years, he had learned to maintain cutting-edge technology and found himself half way around the world in an active theatre of war. It is difficult to imagine the emotional toll that such an experience wrought, especially because many of those who were there retained the proverbial ‘stiff upper-lip’ even after the war. Wg Cdr Crabtree remarked that: “Like most of that generation, Dad never went into the details, but he had an ‘interesting’ war.”

That ‘interesting’ war found Cpl Crabtree trapped in a monsoon whilst serving at RAF Baroda, Gujarat, India. In 48 hours, more than 20 inches of rain had fallen, causing 200 metres of swirling flood water (11 feet deep in places) to cut the men off. With no communications equipment available, distress signals were sent in Morse code using an electric torch whilst taking refuge anywhere people could: on top of buildings or even on overturned beds. The men were rescued when aircraft from a nearby unit flew over and dropped inflatable dinghies. Cpl Crabtree was saved, but sadly others were not so lucky, having fallen victim to the surging waters. This life-threatening situation was undoubtedly only one of many that Cpl Crabtree faced during his Service in the war, but upon his return home he brought with him experiences and memories of that time, which he shared with his family.

Wg Cdr Crabtree remarks:

“When I was really young, all that I knew of this period in his life was that he could recite the story of ‘the Three Bears’ in (what I think was) Hindi. When I was old enough to realise that my Dad was part of the RAF story in WW2, the personal connection brought a new interest when I watched or read about anything to do with the RAF in the war. I remember, we were once looking at a picture of a WW2 ‘sten gun’ and he commented that you had to be very careful with them because you could make them ‘go off’ by just shaking them; in fact, he added, he had seen someone killed when a sentry gestured with his sten gun at someone, and the weapon ‘went off’. Now I understand more about that period of his life,and understand the relevance of his medals and record of service, I am sure there were many things he never told me about his war.”

Cpl Crabtree’s war was just one of a multitude of different experiences faced by people who lived through the war. But on that day in 1945 people took to the streets and shared in a collective outpouring of emotion. There was a place for relief, for joy, but also for sober reflection. Together, we had managed through one of the most difficult periods in our nation’s history and we had done it through the sacrifices of every single person in the nation. Millions of people had lost their lives, and millions more had theirs irrevocably changed. But we had won, and we had to begin the process of rebuilding, and creating a better world.

75 years on Cpl Ronald Crabtree’s son Andy carries with him those memories as he continues to serve in these turbulent times. The adversaries and circumstances may be different, but all those in Defence continue to strive for victory over those that would seek to do us and our allies harm. When we also achieve victory, we too share in that emotion felt on the streets 75 years ago.