And there were thousands out of Town too, since all along the east coast the pavements and grass verges were lined with cars and onlookers waiting to watch the hundreds of vehicles and floats in the cavalcade, while in Town itself the piers were buzzing with children’s activities and adults enjoying food and drink in the sun.
The event was the culmination of the efforts of Education, Sport & Culture member Deputy Sue Aldwell and her team. She said that it had proved well worth the long build-up to the day, which extended to volunteers putting out chairs at 6.30am.
‘We’ve got an absolute array of the most brilliant floats from the parishes,’ she said.
‘Thank you to the parishes and it’s a “wow” to the community, because they have really stumped up and done some brilliant floats.’
She was looking forward to the evening’s first public drone show in the island.
‘Believe me, there won’t be a dry eye in the house,’ she said.
Watch: Islanders got a glimpse of 9 May 1945 this evening with a historical re-enactment of Force 135’s arrival on the island
Among those enjoying the afternoon were men from HMS Express, one of two Royal Navy Archer Class P2000s visiting, the other being HMS Trumpeter.
‘We’ve come over specifically for Liberation Day,’ said Captain Ed Winter. ‘Even before today it’s been great just to walk down the High Street and see all the shops and their bunting and the whole island getting together to celebrate.’
The Express will be part of another celebration next year, when it will be one of the vessels leading a flotilla of small ships in celebration of the 85th anniversary of Dunkirk.
With St Peter Port being the heart of the celebrations it was fitting that the parish contributed a float featuring a wooden model of the Town Church.
‘My son Ryan built it,’ said Ray Green. ‘There are three generations of Greens on board.’ A group of French children visiting the island on an exchange joined the float when it reached Salerie Corner before it took part in the final stage of the cavalcade.
Watch: The Princess Royal brought a message from the King during her Liberation Day visit
The island’s Liberation colour and sparkle has also gone viral through Specsavers’ Tea Dance hosts Rob Rinder and Rylan Clark.
‘What a day to remember,’ Mr Rinder posted on social media.
‘This island has a heart bigger than its coastline, a love of freedom that runs deep, and a dancefloor that didn’t stand a chance. A day we’ll never forget.’
Read lots more Liberation coverage in this weekend’s Guernsey Press.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.