'Young people need to understand': Grave warning as only a third of 18-24 year-olds know significance of VE Day

6 May 2025, 07:00 | Updated: 6 May 2025, 13:59

Nearly 4 in 10 Brits, including over two-thirds of 18-24 year-olds, are unable to identify what happened on VE Day, a shocking new poll for LBC has revealed.

As the UK prepares to mark 80 years since the end of war in Europe on Thursday, LBC commissioned the pollsters More in Common to test the public’s knowledge of some of the key events in WWII, alongside whether too much emphasis is placed on Britain's military achievements.

Despite over a quarter of the 2,000 respondents to our survey suggesting the UK spends too much time and money commemorating the sacrifices of those who came before us, the research exposed notable gaps in the public’s knowledge.

Only 61% of the public correctly identified VE Day as the day of the German surrender to the Allies on 8th May 1945, a result underpinned by the chasm in between younger and older respondents: whilst 83% of those over the age of 65 gave us the correct answer, that figure fell to just 32% of those aged between 18-24.

A mere 36% of under-35s could place the Battle of Britain, in which the Royal Air Force successfully repelled the German Luftwaffe’s aerial bombardments, as occurring during WWII; for the over 75s, the comparative figure was 87%.

Perhaps the most eyebrow-raising result, though, came when we asked about the D-Day landings in June 1944.

Read more: In pictures: VE Day celebrations take place across UK as country commemorates victory in Europe

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One in ten 18-24 year-olds, and one in twenty Brits overall, told us that Operation Overlord, which launched the Allies’ successful invasion of Nazi-occupied France, was led by Captain George Mainwairing - the fictional Home Guard commander in the seminal BBC comedy Dad’s Army.

On top of this, one in twenty 25-34 year-olds believed the landings were led by James Ryan, the protagonist in Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan.

LBC’s research prompts questions about the UK’s collective memory of the conflict.

Luke Tryl, More in Common’s UK director, told LBC the polling indicates that VE Day is “in danger of losing its relevance for lots of people”.

Mr Tryl said: “Often, we are told there is an over-focus on the world wars in education… I think these findings might make us want to go back to the drawing board on that and make sure, particularly now we are at the eightieth anniversary of VE Day, that young people understand the significance and importance of this day and the victory of the Allies in Europe - and more than that, the triumph over totalitarianism.

Sir Hew Strachan, one of the country’s leading military historians, said he was “not enormously surprised” by the gaps in the public’s historical knowledge, whilst also cautioning that some more recent veterans “worry that we are too concerned with the anniversaries of the world wars, and wished we focused on more recent conflicts”.

However, leading military historian Dr Patrick Caddick-Adams, struck an upbeat tone when presented with our research.

“We have to look at the positive angle of these results,” Dr Caddick-Adams explained. “Six in ten know what happened on VE Day - which is a great result after 80 years!”

VE Day was declared at 15:00 on 8th May 1945, when then-prime minister Winston Churchill announced that the Allies had accepted the Nazis’ unconditional surrender following six years of bloody combat.

Crowds flocked to street parties and events across the country on Monday as the first of four days of commemoration commenced.

In London, a military procession was observed from the balcony of Buckingham Palace by four generations of royals - including the King, Queen and Prince William - before the famous Lancaster bomber led a fly-past over the Mall shortly after midday.

The scene marked a poignant departure from past events, being the first commemoration without any of the royals who stood on the balcony of Buckingham Palace eighty years ago.

Meanwhile, the prime minister was seen pouring tea for veterans at a street party on Downing Street, having already attended the procession and fly-past.

Commemorations will conclude on Thursday, the anniversary of VE Day, with a service at Westminster Abbey ushering in a national two-minute silence to remember those who gave their lives in the conflict.

Pubs and bars in England and Wales have also been given permission to serve customers for an extra two hours on Thursday night as part of the celebrations.