As the country celebrates the 80th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe with VE day celebrations taking place up and down the country, this village has chosen to quietly remember.

Anyone taking a stroll round, or a drive through, the village, cannot help but notice dignified, yet simple commemorations dotted here and there to remind us all of the huge debt of gratitude the country owes to so many.

Above is a gallery of some of the ways the end of the war has been remembered here in Bishop Monkton. Individual houses are flying the Union Jack or other appropriate flags, the bridges over the beck have been hung with knitted and embroidered flags and on one of the benches are three small models of Spitfires, a plane produced in more variants than any other British aircraft, one that served in every theatre of the war and one which is synonymous with the Battle of Britain. A Lancaster Bomber is also featured. Alongside the bench are crocheted poppies, while poppy wreaths take pride of place on the bench.

Helping get the display on the bench ready were young villagers, Daniel & Thomas Alcock, aged nine and seven respectively. In the preceding weeks they had carefully painted the planes from prepared cut-outs, painstakingly marking out the number 80 to represent the anniversary, and on a very cold Sunday, helped with putting it all together, hammering into place the poppies alongside.

The Singing For Fun Group featured songs from the 40’s to celebrate the anniversary, inviting everyone to come along and join in if they wished. Organiser, Angie Archbold, said "We had a fantastic time singing songs from the 40’s. It was a small tribute to the enormous sacrifice that was made for us".