West Midlands nostalgia and history articles from the Express & Star | Express & Star

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'The moment a Nazi U-boat met us to surrender' - vivid VE Day memories from veterans in the West Midlands and Shropshire

There weren't many British servicemen who were able to say they spent VE Day aboard a German U-boat. Roy Jones was one of them.

Nostalgia|May 6

Jim Stowe in the 1940s

Organiser, Ann Whitfield and Melissa Jewsbury at the VE Day 80th anniversary celebrations in Newport

VE Day 2025: Newport travels back to the 1940s to kickstart VE Day 80th anniversary commemorations

Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Prince Louis of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales watch the Red Arrows flypast from Buckingham Palace.

VE Day 80: Stunning footage captures Lancaster Bomber, Spitfire and Red Arrows flypast as Royal Family look on

A Lancaster bomber will fly over Shropshire this weekend. Picture: RAF Museum.

Iconic Lancaster bomber to fly over Cosford to mark VE Day 2025 - here's when

(L-R) Doris Nelson, Molly Martin,Harold Swithenbank and Barbara Morgan from Parkfield Grange Care Home, Stourbridge, look forward to VE Day celebrations.

'It wasn't the end of the war but it felt like it' - Stourbridge nonagenarians tell us about their VE day memories

How the West Midlands remembered VE Day - poignant interviews from the files of Peter Rhodes

Nostalgia|May 5

There will be street parties and celebrations across the region to mark VE Day

Community events and street parties as West Midlands comes together to mark VE Day anniversary

More Nostalgia stories

'Time will tell if I did the right thing' - Shropshire author took a sometimes rocky road to achieve his mill home dream

The Tipton football scout who discovered Steve Bull, Andy Thompson and David Burrows dies aged 87

Youngsters queue for an ice cream in 1974

9 of the most popular ice creams and lollies of the 60s, 70s and 80s which we've loved and lost

Councillor Kieran Casey (right) was one of the people at the unveiling of the peace gardens at Coronation Gardens earlier this month.

'Utter disrespect' of yobs who flattened Dudley VE Day peace monument - and the Good Samaritan who repaired the damage

A heavy load boiler travelling through Wolverhampton in January 1978

14 of the best photos take you back to Wolverhampton in 1978

Cannock Library will be one of many holding events for the 80th anniversary. Photo: Google Street Map

Staffordshire libraries to host events for VE Day 80th anniversary

A rail crash at Bushbury, Wolverhampton, which happened on the evening of Saturday, October 22, 1960

'Stop the Wolverhampton express!' - How quick thinking spared Wolverhampton from a major rail disaster

Features|Apr 25

Archaeologist will share his finds with Black Country history group

Pothole exposing cobbled streets on St Vincent Street in Birmingham

Birmingham's fascinating 'time-warp' pothole uncovered by motorists revealing Victorian street

Birmingham|Apr 19

Councillor Kieran Casey (right) was one of the people at the unveiling of the peace gardens at Coronation Gardens earlier this month.

Dudley 'Peace' monument unveiled to honour Britain's Commonwealth veterans

Screen grab of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons, London

Starmer calls for calm amid ‘rising tensions’ between India and Pakistan

UK News|Just now

Richard Horne

‘Nationally significant’ cyber attacks double since last year, security chief warns

UK News|Just now

Home Office sign outside building

Estimated cost of asylum accommodation treble what was expected, says watchdog

UK News|Just now

One of the design concepts for the national memorial to Elizabeth II showing a lily pad canopy above a statue of the Queen

Shortlisted ideas for memorial to late Queen revealed as public asked for views

UK News|Just now

Protesters outside the Infected Blood Inquiry at Church House, in Westminster

Inquiry hears of ‘anguish’ over compensation for infected blood victims

UK News|Just now

A woman with dark hair and a black top with lacy shoulders and a woman with cropped dark hair and a pink top

Man admits killing mum and daughter and injuring three in Boxing Day crash

UK News|Just now

Kevin Beresford has devoted 12 months entirely to the industrial action blighting his home city for his calendar called "Rats The Size of Cats".

Britain's 'dullest man' selling merchandise dedicated to the Birmingham bin strikes

Birmingham|2 hours ago

The Royal Mint VE Day commemorative 50p coin

Coins to mark 80 years since VE Day launched by Royal Mint

Viral news|Apr 30

Stephen Lappin smiling while holding a defibrillator

Runner who had cardiac arrest at race to compete in same event a year later

Viral news|Apr 24

Did The Simpsons predict Birmingham bin strikes? Social media users believe so

Birmingham|Apr 12

Blues and Villa fans spotted at WWE

Aston Villa and Birmingham City fans spotted at WWE 'every week' - leaving fans flabbergasted

Aston Villa|Mar 26

CCTV shows Shane O'Malley and an accomplice raiding Hansons Auctioneers building in Derbyshire

BBC Bargain Hunt star Charles Hanson's auction house targeted by hammer-wielding ram-raid crook in £21,000 raid

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office

Trump plans to announce name change for Persian Gulf, officials say

World News|Just now

Lebanese army soldiers and rescue workers gather next to a damaged car after an Israeli strike, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon

Israeli drone strike kills Hamas member in Lebanon

World News|Just now

A municipal worker clears rubble from a balcony after a Russian strike in Kyiv

Russian missile-and-drones attack kills two people in Ukraine’s capital

World News|Just now

Smoke rising in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern Israel

Israeli strikes kill dozens across Gaza as Israel prepares to ramp up offensive

World News|1 hour ago

An army soldier stands guard on the rooftop of a mosque building damaged by a suspected Indian missile attack near Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir

Pakistan labels Indian missile strikes ‘act of war’

World News|1 hour ago

Police and people inspect the wreckage of a minibus after it collided with a dumper truck in Central Java Province in Indonesia

Eleven teachers killed after dumper truck collides with minibus in Indonesia

World News|1 hour ago