U-Boat Surrender is celebrated

The event on Saturday, planned by Derry City and Strabane District Council, celebrated the historic surrender of the German vessels, which signalled an end to the ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ in May, 1945.

The day featured a packed programme of indoor and outdoor family friendly activities taking place from 10am to 4pm in the city centre – commemorating the city’s role in one of the most strategic military operations of the Second World War.

It was a fun packed day with lots of activities centering round the history of the city at that time.

A variety of unique museum collections were on display as well as US and German Navy Troop Re-enactors from Wartime Living History Association and an American ‘Willys’ Jeep from the Ulster Military Vehicle Club.

A live re-enactment of the surrender event took place in Guildhall Square on the hour throughout the day, and families had the chance to join in.

At the Guildhall there was a photo booth, large-scale Battleship board game, costumes of the time and Morse Code signal machines.

The Atlantic Cafe was opened with the sounds of the Andrews Sisters on the playlist.

Local people and visitors also had the opportunity immerse themselves in the full vintage experience with style tips from Elaine Duffy.

For history buffs, a series of talks were scheduled to take place, beginning with renowned historian Richard Doherty’s ‘The Longest Siege’ - World View from the Banks of the Foyle at 11am.

At 1.30 pm, Dr Marie-Claire Peters was sceduled to give a talk entitled ‘Thank you, Thank you Derry’, exploring the lives of women in WWII Derry and, finally, at 2.30pm, a live concert with 1940s ‘Swinging and Dancing’, by local act the RingaBellas, closed out the event.