We’re bringing Second World War stories to a new generation as part of VE Day 80 plans.
Our new film ‘The Next Morning’ will showcase stories of young people after the Second World War.
Part of the Government’s events and celebrations to commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe, we are releasing a new film telling the stories of young people as they looked ahead to a future free from conflict.
Following the huge success of War Horse which brought the horrors of the First World War to a new generation, The Next Morning turns attention to the Second World War. The film will focus on the hopes, dreams and ambitions of young people after the Second World War and what this means for young people today.
Written by multi-award-winning stage and screen writer and creator of the Olivier Award-winning play Dear England, James Graham, the ten-minute film will take inspiration from archive materials to reflect the hopes that young people had for themselves and their country in 1945.
Following the film’s release, we will also run a year-long schools engagement programme responding to the events of VE and VJ Day and this significant period of the UK’s history.
The schools engagement programme for Key Stages 3 and 4 will be delivered as part of a nationwide tour of Dear England. Inspired by Gareth Southgate’s open letter to England fans in 2021, this creative project will collect and share the hopes that young people have for themselves and for young people in 2105, 80 years’ from now.
The education and community programme is designed to inspire creativity in young people right across the country and deepening their understanding of how our shared history shapes the present and future.
The Next Morning will be released online for the VE Day anniversary on 8th May 2025.
Kate Varah
Speaking about the project, playwright James Graham said:
“How we remember this significant part of our national story for future generations is so important, which is why I feel genuinely honoured and excited to be involved and to see Gareth Southgate’s ‘Dear England’ letter as the inspiration for The Next Morning. We were so moved that the show drew in younger audiences to the theatre, and Gareth’s story – like the themes drawn out of VE Day – is a captivating one for the next generation. One of identity, hope, and national togetherness. Much like the journey of this country following the war, it celebrates our capacity for rebirth, and renewal.”
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said:
“It is only by learning from conflicts such as the Second World War and listening to their devastating effects from those who experienced them that we bring the realities of the conflict to life. We must ensure that their stories live on not just in books, or paper, but in the hearts and minds of future generations.
We must use the 80th anniversary of VE Day to reaffirm our shared commitment to preserving the memory of the men and women across the UK and Commonwealth who served and sacrificed so much for the world we live in today.”
More VE Day 80 activity
DCMS and Imperial War Museum are also inviting schoolchildren across the UK to delve into their own family history to discover the letters sent by their ancestors and relatives to loved ones during the Second World War. As part of the Imperial War Museum’s Letters to Loved One campaign, these first-hand testimonies could include soldiers on the front line; men, women and children on the home front; or relatives who contributed to Britain’s war effort from the British Empire and Commonwealth countries.
At a special VE Day event at Imperial War Museum North on 7 May, some of the letters that the public submit will become part of a performance along with high profile public figures sharing letters from the Imperial War Museum collection and excerpts from The Next Morning. Members of the public can potentially have their family story included by sharing letters on the Government’s VE/VJ Day website before Monday 14 April.
A national programme of activity for school children also kicks off today with resources available for every UK primary and secondary school in the country. The Royal British Legion will produce a film that will see young people visit locations across the UK to discuss the impact of the Second World War on people and communities. They will speak to people who lived through the conflict and hear young people’s perspectives on these stories.
In addition, letters, sound testimony, film and photographs from Imperial War Museum’s collection will be shared with schools in order to help children and young people understand the history and legacy of the Second World War – and why it’s still so relevant today.
An immersive augmented reality experience will give everyone in the country the opportunity to experience first-hand some of the most iconic images of VE Day. Launching in April, Atlantic Studios will bring colourised images to life through the voices of those who experienced it.