Britain has reportedly introduced a new 4 day bank holiday starting next year commemorating the 80th anniversary of the second World War.
Though the exact date is yet to be finalized, the holiday is expected to be held in either May or August, according to the Express.
The holiday will be held as a token of gratitude to all those who fought against the Nazis and Japan, honoring the 450,000 British lives lost in the most destructive war in human history over the course of six years.
The government’s proposed holidays are expected to be scheduled for May 9 and May 12 for nationwide celebrations, or August 22 could be added to extend the summer bank holiday on August 25 into a four-day festival.
This holiday would give communities across Britain the opportunity to celebrate this milestone event, as the following year will likely be the last chance for a major commemoration due to the diminishing number of surviving members of the Greatest Generation, as per The Sun.
Geoff Roberts, a 99-year-old Market Garden veteran who was captured during the airborne assault on Arnhem in 1944 and held as a prisoner of war, said that it was important to remember those who lost their lives to ensure freedom and peace in Europe, “We should never forget them. Maybe an extra bank holiday will help to remind people about what’s happened in the past.”
Market Garden is an allied organization which was planned and dominated by the British.
Marie Scott, at present 98 years old, worked in a top secret underground bunker at 17 years of age, to pass coded messages from military commanders to soldiers landing on the beaches.
She said: “An additional bank holiday would be an opportunity to thank all those wonderful people who made such a spectacular victory possible because, without them, the future could have been very dire indeed.”