A NEW public holiday is reportedly planned for next year with Britons getting a four-day weekend to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
Britain will thank all those who fought the Nazis and Japan with a four-day jamboree in May or August.
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Birmingham residents sing together in celebration in 2015. Credit: Andrew Fox
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Residents of Nettlecombe Avenue in Southsea, Portsmouth celebrate the 70th anniversary of VE Day 2015 Credit: Alamy
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill celebrates victory over the NazisCredit: PA: Press Association
A decision has not yet been made as to which date that will be, but an announcement is on the horizon, reports Express.
May 8 marks Victory in Europe Day, when the Allies accepted the capitulation of Nazi Germany, while August 15 marks the capitulation day of Imperial Japan.
This ended six years of the most devastating war in human history in which 450,000 Britons died.
It is understood the government’s mooted plans could see May 9 and 12 scrapped to allow celebrations across the country or August 22 to turn the August 25 summer holiday into a four-day festival.
This would enable communities across Britain to celebrate this important event.
Next year will be the last chance for a big celebration with the dwindling number of the greatest generation alive.
Only 70,000 veterans who fought in countless ways remain with us, some turning up in Normandy earlier this year to mark 80 years since D-Day.
Geoff Roberts, a veteran of Operation Market Garden, said: “I think it is very important in these current times that we remember those who gave their lives for our freedom and peace in Europe.
“We should never forget them. Maybe the extra holidays will help people remember what happened in the past.”
Marie Scott was 17 on D-Day and was working in a top-secret underground bunker relaying coded messages from military commanders to soldiers landing on the beaches.
D-Day: Standing with giants – The People’s Tribute Normandy 80
The 98-year-old said: “An extra bank holiday would be an opportunity to thank all those wonderful people who made such a spectacular victory possible because, without them, the future could be very dire indeed.”
At the D-Day celebrations in June, King Charles represented the country just hours after receiving treatment for cancer.
The 75-year-old monarch was in a London hospital on Tuesday but remains ready to join veterans the next day and “lead from the front”.
He gave an impassioned speech at the British Normandy Memorial where the names of 22,442 fallen heroes are engraved.
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The Red Arrows fly over the London Eye to celebrate the 75th Victory Day in LondonCredit: EPA
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Crowds gather in 2015 to thank the greatest generation Credit: Darren Fletcher – The Sun
He hailed a generation that “didn’t flinch” when the moment came to act. He urged the world to learn from the past, urging free nations to “stand together against tyranny.”
Eight decades later, the Many are now the Few, and the youngest are in their late 90s.
Only 44 veterans were still fit and well enough to return to the beaches to honor the 22,442 killed under British command between June and August 1944.
Other recent one-off holidays have also been held in the summer.
The late queen’s platinum jubilee was celebrated between June 2 and 5, and the day of her funeral, September 19, was also declared a public holiday.
Britain also enjoyed an extra day off for King Charles’ coronation, as May 8 was declared a public holiday two days after the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
Next year, eight public holidays are planned.
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Churchill announces that Germany has surrendered to the nationCredit: Getty – Contributor
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Prime Minister Winston Churchill with the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
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