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Gallery: Celebrating heroes of yesteryear and today

21st September 2021

Laura Thomson

Nearly eight decades ago, on 7 May 1945, the formal act of military surrender was signed by Germany, thus ending six years of war in Europe.

Winston Churchill designated the following day a Bank Holiday and Britain came together in celebration and commemoration, as they remembered the millions of lives lost during the conflict.

On that day the following year, organised parades took place across London and the UK, commemorating the defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. And yesterday, at the 2021 Revival, we remembered this with a literal moving tribute on the Goodwood Motor Circuit.

Following an eloquent speech from the Duke of Richmond, 150-odd military and civilian vehicles took to the circuit in a glorious display, with modern day heroes – the doctors, nurses and other key workers who were indispensable in the fight against Covid-19 – riding on-board, waving to the massed crowds.

Vehicles of all shapes and sizes made up the parade, from the compact, 59kg 125cc Royal Enfield Flying Flea, so named because it was parachuted out of planes behind enemy lines, to the 33-ton Sherman tank. A Daimler Dingo Scout car led the parade, while a 1929 Dennis fire engine contributed to the civilian contingent. The heavy artillery including a 5.5in Howitzer Field Gun towed behind a Scammell Pioneer SV2S Heavy Vehicle, while the HMS Devonshire 4" Naval Guns fired poignantly from their position beside the circuit.

Photography by Jordan Butters, Joe Harding and James Lynch