VE Day 2025 at National Maritime Museum Cornwall

This year marks 80 years since the end of the Second World War and this VE Day, on Thursday 8 May, National Maritime Museum Cornwall is joining in the celebrations with a workshop open day and the screening of a very special film.

Over the last few months, the Museum’s boatbuilding team have been sensitively recreating a small boat that played a big role in the Second World War. From the Helford River, not far from the Museum, Special Operations Executive (SOE) missions launched vessels heading to the shores of occupied France.

Using the original line drawings of the S.N.2 discovered in the National Maritime Museum Greenwich archives, the team are faithfully recreating the boat in the Museum’s Workshop, which will be open for visitors to meet the team behind the build, to see how work is progressing and find out more about the secretive work of these boats.

The Workshop is open all day and visitors are welcome to drop in.

Throughout the day you can also watch a silent film of the last and only daylight mission of the 15th Motor Gunboat Flotilla.

The 15th MGB Flotilla was the most decorated Naval unit of the war. Based at Dartmouth, they had a forward operating base at Falmouth and worked closely with both Naval Intelligence and the Special Operations Executive based on the Helford Estuary.

Viewable throughout the day in the Museum’s Sunley Lecture Theatre.