In his most inspiring wartime speech in August 1940, Winston Churchill declared that if Britain prevailed in her epic quest for survival, future generations would say: “This was their Finest Hour.”
As the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory over Germany now approaches, Churchill’s phrase continues to resonate as powerfully as ever. The defeat of Hitler’s regime is widely regarded as our greatest chapter, a profound sense of pride and admiration evoked by the heroic images of that conflict: the Spitfires taking to the skies during the Battle of Britain; Arctic convoys braving icy temperatures to deliver supplies to our Soviet ally; and the Allied troops struggling ashore under fire on D-Day. The moral dimension of good V evil reinforced the bonds of mutual trust, which meant the British people never buckled, not even at the height of the Blitz.
The Daily Express was at the heart of a different but also critical battle – for public opinion. A generation of brilliant journalists like Clare Hollingworth, Alan Moorehead and Alaric Jacob used their skill and passion to report the news, whilst also spreading confidence amongst the paper’s five-million strong daily readership. Even the King and Queen turned to the Express when they wanted to understand public opinion.
Now ahead of the the 80th anniversary of VE Day on May 8, the Express is once again telling the story of those dramatic wartime years in an unique 11-part series from the rise of Hitler and Nazism to the defeat of Japan.
Starting on Saturday April 26, many of our finest historians have helped create a part work to collect and share with the younger generation so the story of our finest hour will remain prominent in the history of our island nation.
