Over 5000 people are expected in Banbridge tomorrow for a major Orange Order parade to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE Day.

The date of May 8 1945 was VE Day – a day of celebration when the Allies formally accepted Nazi Germany's surrender.

It marked the end of six years of horrific war, instigated by Adolf Hitler, involving most nations of the world and resulting in 80 million deaths.

Banbridge District Master Stuart Magill said the parade would consist of some 3,000 participants, 30 bands, and some 2,500 spectators.

placeholder image — A major Orange Order parade in Banbridge during celebrations for the Coronation of King Charles III. A similar scale of parade is being held in the town to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE Day.

“The 80th anniversary of VE Day is a very special date,” he said.

“So it is very important when it arrives that it is properly marked.

“It is being remembered right across the UK so we thought it was important that Northern Ireland played its part too.

“We believe it is very important to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for the freedoms we all enjoy today.

“And while there is a lot of focus on those who died in World War II we also remember those who lost their lives in World War I also, in particular in the Battle of the Somme.”

He added: “It's going to be a good evening. Banbridge is one of the best parading towns in the country, people generally flock to it.

“It has wide streets and every band likes playing under the famous 'Cut' [bridge] because of the acoustics.

“And it's fantastic for spectators because they can watch the parade from four different points.

“It's also unique because this will probably be the last parade at which we will have World War II veterans present. We are very honoured to have John Gough as our guest of honour.”

Mr Gough is a 100-year-old veteran from Newry.

A brave captain in the Irish Guard, he fought in the Normandy campaign and helped liberate towns in France and Belgium as the Allies beat back the Nazi war machine.

Orangemen will come to the event from some 22 different districts across counties Down and Armagh. The parade runs from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

In line with the rest of the UK, a 'Freedom Beacon' will be lit at the town's war memorial after a wreath laying service at 8.30pm.

Meanwhile, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Rev Dr Richard Murray, will join the King and Queen, members of the Royal Family, politicians from across the UK, and church leaders, today for a special service at Westminster Abbey to mark the anniversary.

Speaking ahead of the event, he said: “It is an honour to be our church’s moderator on this 80th anniversary of VE Day and to represent Irish Presbyterians at today’s service.

“Many in our church family volunteered from Northern Ireland, and what was then the Irish Free State, which was officially neutral, paying the ultimate price for our freedoms in these islands – and I believe that should not be forgotten ... it is right and proper that 80 years on, we give thanks to God for such a victory, and celebrate as it preserved the civil and religious liberties that we enjoy today, and returned freedom to many elsewhere.”

A Service of Remembrance with Thanksgiving took place last night in St Patrick’s Cathedral, on the Hill of Armagh, with Archbishop John McDowell.

The service featured members of the Ukrainian community, in recognition of the continuing conflict with Russia.

Archbishop McDowell compared the beginnings and endings of the First World War and the Second World War, including how German Protestant churches – learning from their failures in the 1930s – contributed greatly to reconciliation in Northern Ireland in the 1970s.

When sectarian violence broke out in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, he said, the German churches were the first to support peace movements here such as Corrymeela.

Northern Ireland’s VE Day service in 1946 also included a collection for homeless refuges in Europe, as part of the rebuilding of the continent, he said.

“The victors in war needed to put Germany, their enemy, not ‘back in its place’ but back on its feet.”

Today, he concluded, "we thank God for the men and women who fought or who endured what was without doubt a morally-justifiable war. And we thank God, too, that when victory was secured they set about the reconciliation of an entire continent and the making of a peace that would last.”