London Victory Parade 1946

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By Moira Griffiths

My mum, Rita Jones (Nee Aidley), who lived in Fron, was chosen to take part in the Victory Parade through London on Saturday 8th June 1946. She was working in Monsanto at the time, in the labs, and was proud to take part in this historic event. She and a male colleague received free return railway warrants for the journey.

On the Saturday morning they assembled at 9.15 at Hyde Park and joined a group in the Civilian Services, representing Industrial Workers in Chemical Manufacturing. The actual parade started at 10.40 and they remember meeting people from all over the country. There were nearly 21,000 people in attendance. The route was - Marble Arch, Oxford Street, Charing Cross Road, Trafalgar Square, Northumberland Avenue, Embankment, Bridge Street, Parliament Street, Whitehall, The Mall, Constitution Hill and return to Hyde Park. Their contingent was under the charge of an Assistant Marshalling Officer.

The weather was good and the atmosphere was buzzing with all the excitement generated by thousands of people in good spirit. The march was long but on arrival back at Hyde Park they were taken by bus for a mid-day meal. They returned home at 1 a.m. the following morning.

If anyone would like to see the full document then please contact me, as I have the original, or a copy is being kept in a folder held by Joyce Evans. Moira Griffiths 824401.