A Beacon Lighting Ceremony took place on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, outside BCP Civic Centre.
Green Councillor Simon Bull spoke: “Imagine a world without victory in Europe – a world where tyranny triumphed, where darkness endured. That world could have been ours – if not for the courage, the sacrifice, unbreakable resolve of those who stood against it. We remember them: those who fought, those who fell. Those who carried unbearable loss… They paid the price of our freedom.
“They came from every corner of the world, from every walk of life. From every faith, and none. Their strength was not in their sameness, it was in their unity across difference. That unity won the war.
“That unity must guide us still… We owe them more than remembrance. We owe them vigilance. We must stand against those who seek to divide, deceive and dominate. Their tools may be different today, but their aims are not. In honour of the fallen, and in defence of the future, we must say clearly: never again.”