London Victory Parade of 1946
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The London Victory Parade of 1946 was a British victory parade held after the defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan in World War II. It took place in the United Kingdom capital of London, mainly encompassing a military parade through the city. The parade took place on June 8, 1946, almost a year after Germany's surrender to the Allies.
[edit] Controversies
There has recently been some controversy on the BBC WW2 site regarding the date of the Victory Celebrations in Europe and whether or not there was actually a Victory Parade held in London on VJ Day itself.[1]
It is also notable for the exclusion of all Polish servicemen. The 303 squadron was the only Polish unit invited; it declined because the invitation was not extended to any other Polish unit, despite Poland being the fourth largest ally during WW2. Poles were expected to attend the Moscow Victory Parade of 1945, and the Allies did not want to antagonize Stalin, whose Soviet Union claimed Poland under their sphere of influence. This is considered one of the causes of the feeling of "Western Betrayal" in Poland. However, this was also a misunderstanding as it was a parade of British Commonwealth & Colonial forces, and only flag parties of foreign allies took part. 303 Squadron was part of the RAF, not the Polish air force. For example, no Russian forces paraded nor Brazilian forces, although Brazilian forces fought at Monte Cassino. The size of Allied participation was irrelevant. Incidentally, China which also claim to be the fourth largest Ally, was not invited neither.
[edit] References
- ^ BBC WW2 People's War - VJ Procession and the Tramps by Gordon Sharrard. (Online) Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/99/a4648999.shtml}
Victory Parade, London 1946 by Ron Goldstein (BBC WW2 People's War Archive) An eye witness account. http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/40/a4768040.shtml
