Today marks 75 years of VE Day celebrations and the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and its armed forces in the Second World War.

Usually, this would be a day of celebration and street parties but this year is very different due to the ongoing pandemic.

As we reflect on the sacrifices made by those who lost their lives or were injured in the war, the Times, with Elstree Studios, take a look back at the role the famous television studios played in the war.

Prior to the start of the war in 1939, Elstree Studios in Borehamwood was already booming having made more than 200 films, including Alfred Hitchcock's Jamaica Inn (1939) St Martin's Lane (1938) and Mimi (1935).

Charlie Chaplin and Laurence Olivier's careers were helped in no small part by the studios - Chaplin famously described the studios as the "home of the British film industry".

When the war began, filming had to cease - but it did not mean the studios had to shut down altogether.

Instead, the site played a vital role for the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, where it was used mainly as a depot.

Borehamwood Times:

The Royal Army Ordnance Corps sign in the Garrison Theatre

But the large open buildings were also very useful, providing space for essential supplies like weapons, equipment, and food.

In addition to storage, the Royal Army Ordnance Corps built a 550-seater Auditorium on the Elstree Studios site and named it the Garrison Theatre. The Garrison Theatre brought together troops who worked on site or who were based locally and kept them entertained. This played an important part on site in boosting the morale of the troops during the uncertain times of war.

Borehamwood Times:

Posters of shows at the Garrison Theatre

Borehamwood Times:

Garrison Theatre

And as the war continued, various devices which would go on to help win the war would be secretly created inside the workshops at Elstree Studios.

After the war, it would not be until 1948 when Elstree Studios reopened as a production facility.

Studios owner John Maxwell had passed away in 1940, and after his wife sold large shares to Warner Brothers who agreed to rebuild the facility - which marked a new Elstree Studios and reopened in 1948.

What followed was a series of famous post-war films like The Dam Busters (1955), The Hasty Heart starring future US president Ronald Regan (1949), and Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950), all produced at Elstree Studios.

Borehamwood Times:

Elstree Studios in more recent times