1995 VE Day celebration dinner at the Waterside Branch of the British Legion

This week we return to 1995 with a group pictured (above) at the VE Day dinner at the Waterside Branch of the British Legion.

The celebrations took place in spite of a major row, which had threatened to overshadow them.

There had been disgruntlement that Derry City Council had chosen to ignore the wishes of ex-servicement in the city.

The Sentinel reported how RBL officers had been ‘advised’ not to turn up with their standards to a Service of Reconciliation in the Guildhall, or to the unveiling of a new memorial to the Battle of the Atlantic.

A source close to the Legion said members were furious over the Council’s treatment of them.

He said: “I have seen veterans in tears. Any other Council in the province went to the Legion to ask for help in whatever they wanted to organise but veterans here have been totally ignored.

“The Council has advised veterans not to carry standards, and they don’t want them to march.”