VJ Day: East Midlands commemorate 80th anniversary
There is also a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum today to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ day.
Second World War veterans will be honoured across the East Midlands today in services, and events.
The King and Queen are also expected to pay their respects on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
Charles, Camilla, and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will attend a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum today, which will also have 33 veterans aged 96 to 105 as guests, all of whom served in the Far East and Pacific.
The Royal British Legion (RBL) event will honour British, Commonwealth and Allied veterans who served in the Far East theatres of war including Myanmar and the Pacific and Indian Ocean territories.
Around 1,500 guests will hear first-hand from veterans who experienced conflict in the Far East before the war ended when atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan’s surrender and VJ Day on August 15 1945.
The service will begin with a national two-minute silence and include flypasts by the Lincolnshire based Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster – with military bagpipers playing at dawn in the Far East section of the Arboretum.
In the East Midlands
Well there are two veterans attending the national service from the east midlands, both from Derbyshire.
103-year-old Harry Roberts, from Chesterfield, served with the Royal Air Force and 100-year-old Stanley Roberts, served in the Army with the Parachute Regiment.
In the morning, from 10:30, services are being held by the Royal British Legion at the war memorials in Retford, and in Worksop.
In Leicester, they're following tradition, with events all day including the conga round the Clock Tower which people there did at the end of the second world war. There'll also be vintage music, bunting and bell-ringing all centred around Town Hall to mark the anniversary. A commemorative book is available for people to record their personal thanks to the men and women who served in the war.
Leicester Cathedral will also be marking the anniversary with a commemorative evening service at 5:30pm, which will be open to the public and attended by the Lord Mayor, the Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire, and other civic dignitaries.
Leicester’s libraries and museums will also be getting involved by showcasing resources, memories and objects relating to the 1940s wartime era and celebrations of peace. In August, the hugely popular Popping to the Shops exhibition will feature as its ‘object of the month’ an extremely rare poster for a VJ concert in November 1945, delayed on purpose so that servicemen returning from the Far East could attend.
From 1:30pm, North Notts BID will be holding a commemorative event in Worksop to pay tribute to all those who served in the Far East and the Pacific. This special event will commemorate the amazing achievements of our local veterans and is open to the public from 1:30pm – 3:00pm at Worksop Market Square. There'll be live performances with songs from the 1940’s, and real-life experiences of veterans from the war will be read with storyboard displays placed around the square.
Derbyshire County Council Chairman Councillor Nick Adams is hosting the service of commemoration at Hall Leys Park in Matlock at 6pm. The Armed Forces Champion will also attend the service, which is being led by the chaplain for the Matlock branch of the Royal British Legion.
Finally, in Derby's newly reopened Market Hall, a free live music event is being held between 7pm and 8.30pm. They have a vintage vocalist and entertainer.
More events are scheduled over the weekend across the region.
Downing Street reception for veterans
The Prime Minister held a special reception at Downing Street for veterans on Thursday, at which he said: “Eighty years since our victory in the Second World War, we pay our respects to the many who fought, were captured, and made the ultimate sacrifice in the Far East.
“Our country owes a great debt to those who fought for a better future, so we could have the freedoms and the life we enjoy today. We must honour that sacrifice with every new generation.”
WW2 veterans tell their story
Many of the veterans at the Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, have never told their story before registering with the RBL to be part of commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory Over Japan.
Veterans attending the event served in the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, with roles ranging from those deployed on submarines, minesweepers and destroyers, to a Spitfire pilot and a combat cameraman.
The oldest veterans are Yavar Abbas and Owen Filer, aged 105, and other attendees include two of the last surviving Chindits – Charlie Richards, 104, and Sid Machin, 101 – who served in the elite Special Forces unit known for their deep jungle warfare tactics as part of Operation Thursday.
Mr Richards, from Northamptonshire – who served in the 7th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment, spent months behind enemy lines ambushing Japanese supplies and communications, all while pulling along reluctant mules and heavy equipment.
The 104-year-old said: “I am so proud to attend the RBL’s national event, and I think it will be a really poignant moment for those of us left.
“I want to represent all those who saw action in the Far East and remember those who never made it home, including my best friend and comrade, Son Johnson, who was killed in action in Burma. It will be such a special day for me and my family.”
Joseph Hammond, 100, whose testimony will be shared during the service, will be watching the live broadcast from his home in Ghana 3,000 miles away.
Mr Hammond fought in Burma in the 82nd Division in brutal conditions near the Irrawaddy River and suffered a serious eye injury and remained in hospital until the war ended.
In 2020, he walked 14 miles over seven days to raise £500,000 for frontline workers and veterans during the Covid pandemic.
Mr Hammond said: “Why should such a thing happen? Man killing his fellow man. Humanity, destroying humanity. Never allow your country to go that way. It’s no good. I know how it feels, so I have to advise everybody to keep away from war. Let us continue to enjoy our peace.”
Hundreds of buildings light up for VJ Day
From 9pm on Friday evening, hundreds of buildings across the country will be lit up to mark VJ 80, including Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, Tower42, The Shard, Blackpool Tower, Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Durham Cathedral, Cardiff Castle, the Cenotaph, the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore and the White Cliffs of Dover.