Bedford Radio will be marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a special programme exploring VE Day in Bedford, and the wartime years that it brought to an end.
The show will be focused on first-hand testimony from people who experienced the war in Bedford. Much of this is drawn from the WW2 People’s War project of 2005-6, and material from it has been kindly provided by the Higgins Bedford, who gathered recollections in a project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The programme will feature original recordings from the project where it is available, and also specially recorded readings by volunteers from The Place Theatre and Bedford Radio.
Listeners will hear about people’s day-to-day experiences of the war in Bedford, including rationing, air raids, and military activity including from the numerous busy airfields around the town. The focus then moves to VE Day itself, starting with the sequence of events that led to it over May 6th, 7th and 8th, then showcasing multiple eyewitness accounts of the celebrations in Bedford and surrounding neighbourhoods.
Historic Bedford: VE Day will be broadcast on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5th, 7-8pm; it will be repeated on Thursday May 8th, 6-7pm; it will also be available after its first transmission on the Bedford Radio website, www.bedford.radio/listenagain.
Bedford Radio is the local, not-for-profit radio station serving Bedford and the surrounding area. With a mission to inform, entertain, and connect the community, the station offers a platform for local voices and stories, with programming created by and for Bedford’s diverse population.
Bedford Radio is available via DAB across Bedford, its website www.bedford.radio, its own smart phone app, or by asking your smart speaker to “Play Bedford Radio”.
