Sunderland residents have been celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE Day in Keel Square.
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00:00I'm here in Keele Square for the VE Day celebrations. As you can see on the big screen they've got some images from some of the various events which took place 80 years ago today.
00:11They've also got military vehicles, some period costumes. We've also got some deck chairs set out but the sun is not shining at the moment.
00:18Hopefully more people will be coming down later today. People are enjoying some food as well and as you can hear we've got some 1940s music taking place in the background here.
00:30Okay so here in Keele Square today as part of the VE Day celebrations just how important is it to remember what happened 80 years ago?
00:38Well there's an old saying that says that those who forget history are doomed to repeat it and it's vital that we actually remember what this country went through not just in the Second World War but the First World War.
00:52And we were actually fighting for the freedom of this country. So if the outcome of the war had been different then who knows what this country would actually be now.
01:02When you look at what fascist Germany was then I don't think anybody in this country would have wanted this country to be like that.
01:11And I understand that your parents also experienced some troubles themselves during the war?
01:17Yes. My mother lived with her parents in Roxburgh Street over in Fulwell and when she was 17 years old a German bomber came over and it was aiming for the railway line.
01:30Sunderland was a major target during the Second World War because they had the shipyards, railways, steelworks, all this heavy industry. So it was a major target.
01:41And the bomber was aiming for the railway line but unfortunately they weren't very accurate and it actually hit the cottage that my mother was in with her sister and her mother and father and their baby brother.
01:54And the explosion killed my grandmother and the rest of the family were actually buried overnight until they were dug out by wardens and they were then taken to Monkway West Hospital.
02:11Special thanks to..
02:19We become a a lot more in butter than us so we are doing
02:22but you need to risk of being mu.
02:24To our body lives alone.
02:27And the smoke lives alone.
02:28This huge plot is available so that our håndice keeps in behind the scenes is incredible.
02:32And, hopefully, it's been an exciting time.
02:37Despite the reserves of Africa easier and literally going back to köment,