In pictures: Veterans and schoolchildren mark 80th anniversary of VE Day together

People of all ages - from veterans to school children - took part in the flag raising ceremony and proclamation near the Old Grammar School at 10am. In attendance were pupils from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School and Meadowdale Primary School, who performed with both singing and dancing during the short service.

At the event was 89-year-old Peter Longhurst, from Market Harborough (pictured below).

He was ten years old when his dad took him to the Victory Celebrations parade in London in 1946, a year after VE Day.

“I remember facing the Houses of Parliament and seeing lots of tanks and troops parading for a couple of hours,” he said.

Peter’s uncle, Bert Ransome, was on HMT Lancastria and helped translate between the French and English troops.

HMT Lancastria was sunk on June 17, 1940, off the French port of St. Nazaire, while taking part in Operation Aerial, the evacuation of British nationals and troops from France, two weeks after the Dunkirk evacuation.

"Many people lost their lives. My uncle was in the water for about six hours but managed to survive," said Peter, who often went back to St. Nazaire to pay his tributes and took part in Remembrance parades in London.

Many businesses in the town centre have decorated their shopfronts in red, white and blue – and Union flags are also flying on the High Street, as well as from many other buildings.

Here are some of our photos from today’s event in Market Harborough.