Malcolm Neesam (1946 - 2022) was a writer, archivist and historian, specialising in Harrogate and North Yorkshire history. He was born in Harrogate and studied at the University of Leeds as a professional archivist and librarian. He subsequently worked in Hereford, Leeds, London and York where, for twenty-five years, he was North Yorkshire County Music and Audiovisual Librarian. In 1996 Harrogate Borough Council awarded Malcolm the Freedom of the Borough for his services as the town’s historian, preserving much of the town's heritage.

This article was first published October 2, 2020 as part of Malcom's Harrogate History series for the Stray Ferret.

---

On Tuesday 8th May 1945, a full-sized likeness of Adolph Hitler gazed across West Park Stray surrounded by a replica of his Mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden.

It had been placed there as the crowning display of a huge bonfire and assembled by the Harrogate Home Guard, who, at dusk, stormed the display, and to frantic cheering from the assembled townspeople, captured the effigies of Hitler and his cronies, before the Mayor lit the bonfire that burned 'Berchtesgaden' to the ground.

Beyond this scene of rejoicing, Harrogate was a sea of bunting and the flags of allied nations, which filled not only the town centre, but nearly every suburban street as well. In the main shopping streets at the town’s centre were displayed large portraits of the King and Queen, Prime Minister Churchill and allied leaders, Field Marshall Montgomery and other military luminaries.

Joyous crowds surged through the town centre that day, whose drab and neglected appearance, the result of five years, eight months and five days of wartime austerity, was temporarily brightened by brightly coloured displays, although the need to conserve energy precluded the use of gas or electric power, exceptions being made at the Royal Baths, and Municipal Offices where Mayor G. Spenceley had greeting the crowds gathered in Crescent Gardens.