VE Day celebrations

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  • ... though the last surviving veteran of the Battle of Britain is Irish, and 9 of his compatriots were also eligible for the BoB clasp.

    AG
  • TheOrganistTheOrganist Shipmate
    edited May 2020
    Crœsos wrote: »
    One house locally had several flags of the Allies: France, Ireland, Wales, Union Jack and a few more.

    Ireland was neutral in World War II, not one of the Allies.

    "Neutral" along the same lines as Spain: allied pilots who ended up in the Republic of Ireland were interned and De Valera went so far as to pay a formal visit to the German embassy to offer condolences on behalf of the nation when the death of Hitler was announced, as this explains.
  • EirenistEirenist Shipmate
    I read in a book about the SAS that some Republicans joined up to get military training and several found their way into 'Special Forces'.
  • As to the 'thoroughly modernised German army' let us not forget that it was the not inconsequential acquisition of the Skoda works that gave the Germans splendid light and medium tank design that gave them mobility advantage against the French. The French, it should be noted, had superior heavy tank design, except for the fact that it used airplane fuel. You couldn't just pull up to a petrol station. The Germans' chief talent was theft.
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