VE Day 80: Norfolk Museum Receives Historic Flag

80 years ago this week David Johnson was serving as a dispatch rider with the 1st Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment as Allied Forces announced Victory in Europe. As we mark the 80th anniversary of this momentous occasion on 8th May, we are delighted to announce that David has donated the 1st Battalion 'D-Day to V.E. Day' veterans flag to the Royal Norfolk Regimental Museum.

Veterans took the commemorative flag to France and Holland on significant anniversaries of the war. Made of yellow silk, it depicts the regimental badge with Britannia in the centre around which is listed twenty key actions fought by the Battalion, including Venraij (Venray), where David was wounded by a bullet to his left knee, and Helmond in the Netherlands.

In September 1944 the 1st Battalion had been the first British troops to enter Helmond where they were given an uproarious and warm welcome. Up until the 2010s, veterans were regularly generously hosted by the grateful residents of the town which is around 8 miles from Eindhoven in the south of The Netherlands. 

David, the last survivor of those who liberated Helmond, presented the flag to Curator Kate Thaxton and Trustee Col. Tony Slater, in a small ceremony held at Norwich Castle last month. The centenarian was accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law Trevor and Heather Johnson as well as his friend and neighbour Roger Sandall. 

Accepting the gift on behalf of the Regimental Collections, Curator, Kate Thaxton, said: "I am delighted to accept this commemorative standard, which was commissioned and treasured by the very men who fought, arguably, the most consequential campaign in modern European history, 80 years ago. It has been an honour to meet David." 

The veteran, who turned 100 in February, joined the Army in 1943 aged 18, and was placed in the 7th Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment. He landed on the coast of Normandy on D Day + 16, fighting in the battle for Caen and moving forward through France under heavy German resistance. Reaching the small town of Grimbosq, 12 miles south-west of Caen, on 8 August 1944, the 7th Norfolks fought their final major action. The heavy casualties sustained led to it being disbanded and David was sent to the 1st Battalion.

After the war, David worked in the Fire Service before serving in the police for two decades. An active member of the Royal Norfolk Veterans Association, David has laid a wreath at the war memorial at Norwich City Hall on Remembrance Sunday on several occasions. In 2016 David was awarded the highest French order of merit, the Legion d'Honneur, and later the Dutch Herinneringsmedaille, known as the 'Thank you Liberators' Medal.  

Councillor Margaret Dewsbury, Cabinet Member for Communities, Norfolk County Council, said: "The men who served in the Royal Norfolk Regiment helped bring about the peace we have enjoyed in our generation. It is therefore a huge honour for the Museums Service to be able to preserve and share veteran David Johnson's story as well as this stunning commemorative battalion flag which commemorates the sacrifices made by so many." 

VE day is being marked at another NMS museum, Ancient House Museum in Thetford, which is running a workshop for home-educating families on Thursday 8 May.

On Saturday 10 May, the museum is running a VE Day Family Event where you can join costumed characters to find out the extraordinary stories behind VE Day, larn about the role of the armed forces and the code breakers, learn how the local people celebrated VE Day and get hands-on with real Second World War objects.