Speaker turns on Big Ben light to mark wartime anniversary-OxBig News Network

House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has switched on Parliament’s historic Ayrton Light to commemorate the moment his predecessor did the same thing 80 years ago towards the end of the Second World War.

The light which sits above the Big Ben bell at the top of the Elizabeth Tower, was switched off at the outbreak of war in 1939 to comply with blackout regulations.

The rules were aimed at reducing any light which could help Germany bombers find their targets.

In 1945, then Commons Speaker Col Clifton Brown interrupted a parliamentary debate to tell MPs that after five years, seven months and 23 days, he was turning the light back on.

Addressing the Commons, Clifton Brown said: “I pray that with God’s blessing, this light will shine henceforth not only as an outward and visible sign that the Parliament of a free people is assembled in free debate, but also that it may shine as a beacon of sure hope in a sadly torn and distracted world.’

To mark the anniversary, Sir Lindsay recreated the switching on, accompanied by Chelsea Pensioners John Morris, 103, and Tony Hunt, 85.

Mr Hunt was seven years old on VE (Victory in Europe) day and recalled his memories of blackout regulations being lifted.

“One minute we were making sure the blinds were down and diving into air-raid shelters for safety in the dark because the sirens were sounding – the next, cars and buses had their headlights on, and it was a different world.

‘We had street parties, played cricket in the streets, and families were reunited – it was a very special time.”

Mr Morris joined the Army at the age of 17 and during the war served as an anti-aircraft gunner in the Royal Artillery.

He later joined the Raiding Support Regiment and fought in Italy and Yugoslavia.

Sir Lindsay said it was “an incredible privilege to recreate such a symbolic moment in our history, with two Armed Forces veterans who remember what it was like to realise that peace was returning after six long years at war.

“Turning on the Ayrton Light was important to Speaker Clifton Brown because it showed that democracy had survived the war and it is something we have held dear ever since.”

The Ayrton Light is switched on to signify that either the House of Lords or the House of Commons are sitting.

It was installed in 1885 at the request of Queen Victoria who wanted to be able to see from Buckingham Palace if her parliamentarians were sitting after dark.

The light was named after Acton Smee Ayrton, Commissioner of Works between 1869 and 1873.

It was switched off in 2017, for the first time since the war, to allow repairs to take place.

The entire light was dismantled and sent to a Sheffield workshop to be restored and was turned back on in 2022.