On the 75th anniversary of victory in Europe, I want to pay tribute to the sacrifices of the war generation here in Reading East and across the UK and Commonwealth Nations. Soldiers, factory workers, engineers, farmers, sailors, nurses, and pilots are just a few of the groups from the Reading area who played a part in the victory over the Axis powers, and in the rebuilding of post-war Britain.

Many of us have family members who made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat fascism and to defend the freedoms we enjoy today.