On this day 75 years ago, VE Day was declared and the slow process of returning to normal life, for those who had given so much, began.
One of the millions aiming to do so was Charlie Chase who fought in World War II as a paratrooper and was just 21-years-old when VE Day arrived.
Upon resumption of the Football League for the 1946/47 season, Chase started his footballing career, one that would see him join Crystal Palace from Watford in July, 1948.
As part of our education programme for our Academy players, two of the club’s Under-13s, Joshua Solecki and Tyler Whyte, were chosen to go and meet Charlie and ask him about his life in football and in wartime – the pair were in fact chosen after producing a fascinating piece of work around the D-Day landings.