Woman, 100, shares blitz memories on VE Day

A woman who was celebrating her 20th birthday when the war in Europe came to an end in 1945 has recalled the Birmingham blitz 80 years on.

Elizabeth Harrod, known as Betty, is marking her 100th birthday at Aran Court Care Home in Tile Cross, where she is a resident.

VE Day was when the European part of World War Two ended, with the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies on 8 May 1945.

According to the Imperial War Museum (IWM), Birmingham was Britain's third most-bombed city, after London and Liverpool.

Asked about her memories of that time, Ms Harrod remembered the devastation of bombs falling in Birmingham.

"On certain days you think, oh crikey, there was a big bomb that day," she said.

The IWM has recorded how the first major raid on the city took place in August 1940.

One raid saw more than 400 tonnes of high-explosive bombs dropped, hitting one of the city's most important factories, the Birmingham Small Arms works.

The city was targeted again on consecutive nights.

Recalling the explosions, Ms Harrod said: "I don't like to remember them really, because it caused such chaos, and I don't like that.

"It's not a nice thing for people to remember anyway.

"Those that were in it, I heard them. I wasn't involved in them, but you could hear the people screaming because they were getting hurt."

Decades later, as communities marked the 80th anniversary of the end of the war with tea and cake at street parties, Ms Harrod said the secret to reaching the age of 100 was "drinking tea".

She said she also loved to dance when she was younger, particularly sequence dancing, where all couples followed the same routines.

Turning 100 felt much like being 99, she said, but she felt "very happy" to have reached the milestone.

In Sutton Coldfield, town mayor John Perks described how as a child, his grandmother used to tell him stories about the war, "everything from ration books to hiding under the kitchen table when the air raid sirens went off", and losing family members.

"We need the people from the younger generations to understand the sacrifice that was made," he said.

He said VE Day 80 was "so important for future generations", to ensure people never forgot.

Events across Birmingham and the Black Country include the lighting of beacons in Sutton Coldfield and Solihull, while a parade and a service are also being held in Sandwell.

A flag-raising ceremony took place outside the council house in Walsall, hosted by the mayor and the West Midlands deputy lieutenant.

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