Victory In Europe Day is a significant day on the Friends of Odd Bods calendar and the history of our involvement goes way back.
On 8th May 1945 Winston Churchill announced the end of the war in Europe and the hopes and dreams of all allied service personnel were answered with the end of hostilities. Odd Bods made their way home to Australia and a new world order.
We have recounted on these pages many times how Odd Bods arrived without a squadron banner (because they had served on overseas squadrons) and how they formed their own association, created a banner, and set about "Pressing on ... remembering".
One of their early goals was to recognise 8th May as a very significant date and the inaugural VE Day Pilgrimage in 1956 at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance was organised by a committee including a representative of the Odd Bods. Hugh Niven (seen in the photo above) was our representative in 1956 and the association paid a £2 yearly subscription.
Today, The Shrine records the VE Day Service as follows -
ANNIVERSARY OF VICTORY IN EUROPE (VE DAY) INCORPORATING THE FRIENDS OF THE ODD BODS ASSOCIATION
In his address at today's service in the Shrine Sanctuary, the Shrine Governor recalled his attendance at Odd Bods functions in the past and expressed his delight at seeing so many Odd Bod representatives continuing the tradition on VE Day.
Friends of the Odd Bods President, Sqn Ldr. Bruce Waxman OAM RAAF (Rtd) presented the address, while Odd Bod Doug Parry read the Ode. here is a link to the video of the livestream - https://youtu.be/16kFAgwVvPM?t=157
And here are our photos of the day -
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