World War One ended officially at 11.00am on the 11th November 1918. At that precise time, in the main, the guns fell silent for the first time in more than four long years of fighting. During hostilities, more than 37 million military personnel from all participating nations were injured or killed; almost 4,000 men from the Sefton area were killed. As news of the 1918 Armistice spread, celebrations took place all over the UK and Sefton was no exception. In Southport the illuminations along Lord Street were turned on for the first time since war was declared as people danced in the streets. At the Vulcan Motor Factory in Crossens, workers bedecked the building with a huge Union Jack flag, bunting, and a banner proclaiming that the war was over. Employees at the factory had joined up, gone off to fight and had supported the local VAD Hospitals by providing ambulances and drivers to ferry the sick and injured from the railhead at Aintree Hospital to St John’s VAD hospital in Southport. Across Sefton, people gathered for victory parades, thousands gathered in Bootle for a Victory march through the streets in spring 1919.
The Vulcan factory celebrates victory
The Bootle victory parade
More than 37 million military personnel from all participating nations were injured or killed during World War One.
Unveiling of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, November 1920.