ISSUE 01
When Big Ben Chimed New York
An Irish emigrant’s account of Victory Day
15 August 1945
Published in WITNESS – Issue No. 1
On the evening of 15 August 1945, as New York celebrated the end of the Second World War, an Irish emigrant named Elizabeth Forde sat down to write a letter home.
She was not a politician, a soldier or a journalist. She was an ordinary woman from Drumlish, County Longford, who had made a life for herself in Manhattan more than twenty years earlier.
Her letter was never intended for publication. It was simply a daughter’s account of an extraordinary day, written for family
thousands of miles away.
Today, it offers something official records rarely can: the chance to experience history through the eyes of someone who lived it.
Meet Elizabeth
Born in County Longford in 1905, Elizabeth emigrated to New York in 1923.
Like many young Irish women, she found employment as a domestic housekeeper and spent the rest of her life in Manhattan.
Although she never returned to live in Ireland, she remained closely connected to home through regular letters.
On Victory Day, her instinct was not to preserve history for future generations. She simply wanted her family to understand what she had seen and felt.
That ordinary act created an extraordinary historical record.
Listen to Elizabeth's Letter
Read by her great-neice.
Approx. 8 mins
Hearing the letter spoken aloud reminds us that these words were never written for history.
They were simply written home.
The Original Letter
Explore every page of Elizabeth’s handwritten letter as it was sent home on 15th August 1945.
Read Along
Follow the transcript as the audio plays. Read along with Elizabeth’s words.
560 West 179 St, N.Y C. c/o Scanlon
August 15th 1945 – Victory Day
My Dear Father
This also goes to Mikie & Mary Ellen and all the rest of the family, because this is a day of days Thank God. it has come at last and most remarkable of all on a beautiful feast day of Our Blessed Lady. I wish we were all together today, because I have
never in my life, saw or lived through anything like it. such wild joy & thanksgiving. Of course we got the offical news at 7. P.M. yesterday (Tuesday 14th) everybody was out doors all day waiting with Radios tuned on. It has really been like that since Friday. As a matter of fact, we had 3 false reports since Sunday & on each occassion what an uproar. But yesterday was different. Step by step from the answer left Japan until it was opened & read from
the White House at 7. P.M new york time, the radios kept informing the public. We heard Big Ben chime midnight in London & then from London & Washington at the same time came the long awaited news, & then how I wish you had been here. People dropped on their knees where ever they happened to be, & after that it took just about 10 minutes to transform the city into a fairy land. that what it looked like. With flags & ribbons & paper & confetti & Bands, from
windows & housetops & sky-scrapers – every body out to celebrate, some singing, some crying as the news affected them but, every body wild with relief & joy, all going together, Race creed, or color, didnt matter last night, Barrels of beer, rolled out on the side walk wine, whiskies & food, pushed into your hands, as you went along. The churches were jammed, all night long devotions & all, day today very special services in all of them. I got to St Patricks Cathedral for mass, I came home to rest a bit, &
then I’m going back to church again. We are asked to spend as much time in church today as we can, I thought I could tell you what it was all like, but I’m afraid I cant. It seems quiet outside now, its just around 1:30 noontime. Nobody works in New York today, except, the Sanitation Dept, Police & Fire men etc, all stores are closed & covered with flags, the aeroplanes are over the city dropping streamers & confetti & times square & broadway is still jammed with people later on, no doubt they will
start the noise making again. I can hear the bands going now, We stayed out most all last night, but nobody could sleep anyway. Thank God it is over & I hope in our life time, we will not have to wait for the end of another war. I will send you the papers. I have saved them since that first atomic bomb, was dropped as I thought you might be interested in reading about it, its a horrible weapon, God has been so good, that our enemies didnt get it first. & thank
God. it wont have to be used again, its too dreadful to think about. now I hope you are all well at home, & I hope things will speedily improve for everybody, everywhere. I am watching for a letter from home. I am so happy about the war been all over, that I had to just try & share it with you folks at home. It is a happy, wonderful day for us here in America. God has been so good to spare us. I will write
some more later on, when I get over the excitment. I am mailing some old things which you might be able to use, either tomorrow or Fridays, if the post office opens. I will pray for you all when I go to church. in the meantime buy yourself a treat. I hope I will hear from you soon.
Best Regard to Mikie. Mary E + Kids With all my Love
To Father xxxxx From Elizabeth
Download the complete Journal
WITNESS Issue No.1 – When Big Ben Chimed New York
A beautifully designed PDF edition of the full journal.
About Matt Sullivan
Matt Sullivan is a filmmaker and heritage storyteller. His work explores how original sources and personal stories help people
connect with history.
Elizabeth Ford was his great-grandaunt.
Could you help us?
WITNESS explores history through the eyes of ordinary people who witnessed extraordinary events.
If you have letters, diaries, photographs or family documents that tell the story of an historical moment, we’d love to hear from you.
Your family’s history could become part of a future edition of WITNESS.
