The council will mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day with a service of commemoration at Rochdale Cenotaph on Thursday, 8 May 2025.
Members of the armed forces, councillors, residents and local schools will come together at 10.45am, to mark the historic day when World War II came to an end in Europe and the forces of Nazi Germany were finally defeated by Great Britain and its allies.
The VE Day anniversary service will include hymns, poems, readings, the playing of the Last Post and the laying of wreaths.
Councillor Janet Emsley, Rochdale Borough Council’s lead member for the armed forces, will read an extract from Prime Minister Sir Winston’s Churchill’s famous VE Day broadcast to the nation from 8 May 1945.
At the end of the service, a peal of bells will ring out from St Chad’s Parish Church, Rochdale, and churches in Middleton, Heywood and the Pennines, marking the moment in 1945 that peace was declared across Europe.
Thousands of men and women from the borough of Rochdale had helped to secure victory, with many paying the ultimate sacrifice.
The victorious event was marked locally on Sunday 13 May 1945, with a victory parade through Rochdale, as thousands of men, women and children gathered outside the town hall to celebrate.
Councillor Emsley said:
“This will be a moving and emotional service of commemoration, as we come together to remember the historic moment peace was secured and victory was declared across Europe. We remember with gratitude those brave men and women who fought to protect our freedoms, liberty and values.
“That historic spring day in 1945 was widely celebrated across our borough and, 80 years on, it is poignant that we are gathering just across from Rochdale Town Hall, where so many people had come together to mark Victory in Europe. Lest we forget.”
Further information on the VE Day service