World War Two veterans had ensured "victory over the greatest darkness of the 20th Century," the Archbishop ofCanterbury said at a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey today.

The service was the centre piece of the final day of commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on Friday.

Those present included the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, Prime Minister David Cameron and the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, as well as about 1,000 veterans and their families, including Chelsea Pensioners.

Archbishop Welby said in his sermon: "Gratefully we remember today those who gave everything in those years...firmly held by His love we shall overcome all fear."

The choir sang a specially commissioned anthem by Judith Weir, based on Psalm 136: "O Give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious: for his mercy endureth for ever." The Act of Rededication was led by veteran John Wilson and Zoë Churchill, the great-great-granddaughter of Winston Churchill.

The service was led by the Dean of Westminster Dr John Hall. Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach read Isaiah 58 from the Great Lectern and actor Simon Russell Beale read from the VE Day speech of King George VI, father of the Queen, who was monarch at the time.

Young cadets read the same prayers that were said in Westminster Abbey during the hourly services on VE Day in 1945 and the Queen laid a wreath with the inscription: "In memory of the glorious dead."

Afterwards, the Abbey bells were 'fired', or struck simultaneously, 70 times, followed by 570 changes of the ringing method Stedman Caters.

The service was followed by a military parade and flypast of Spitfires and Hurricanes. The parade, including veterans and serving personnel from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, went from the Abbey to Horse Guards Parade, passing the balcony of HM Treasury in Whitehall, where Sir Winston Churchill made his historic appearance before the crowds on VE Day.

At 11am yesterday bells rang out at churches and cathedrals around the country to mark the anniversary. It symbolised the end to the war years, throughout which the bells hung silent.

At a celebratory concert on Saturday night, the actress Jane Horrocks was moved to tears as she read a letter written by Lieutenant George F Morrison of the 7th Battalion of the Royal Highlanders. The letter was to be sent to his mother in the event of his death. It was the last letter his mother would ever receive from him.

On VE Day in 1945 short services of thanksgiving were held every hour at Westminster Abbey between 9am and 10pm, with approximately 25,000 people attending throughout the day.