VE & VJ Day 2025

Grodno, Belarus

 

Anyone going to start a VJ Day +80 thread or shall I just edit VJ into the thread title ?

 

Are the Government planning similar events for VJ as they have just done for VE?

 

Thinks are frustratingly quiet on the subject of larger VJ Day events just now! I believe the RBL are planning something at the National Arboretum, as are the Cofepow organisation. Holding fire just now, so as not to jeopardise anything that might be forthcoming. Forgotten Army and all that!

 

Still is apparently.

 

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport have a website with a box to tick for email updates on VJ day celebrations:

Toolkit

 

There is now something planned by the RBL for VJ Day at the National Memorial Arboretum, to take place on Friday 15th August. Details are still sketchy rolleyes.............more details when known.

 

Finally!!!

VJ Day 80 - Royal British Legion

 

A general debate in the Commons on Monday 21st July.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2025-0166/

Background
15 August 2025 will mark 80 years since the surrender of the Japanese imperial forces, effectively ending the Second World War.
US President Harry S. Truman informed reporters gathered at the White House that Japan had agreed to an unconditional surrender on 14 August 1945. Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced in a radio broadcast the surrender of his country on 15 August, and hostilities ceased that day.
This decision by Japan came shortly after the dropping of nuclear bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6 and 9 August.
The UK and other Commonwealth countries mark Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) on 15 August. In Australia it is referred to as Victory in the Pacific Day or VP Day. The United States marks VJ Day on 2 September, the day formal surrender documents were signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.
According to the Royal British Legion, by 1945 across Asia and the Pacific there were 365,000 British and 1.5 million Commonwealth troops deployed. A significant number of the latter being formed of the pre-partition Indian army. The Legion sets out some statistics on the casualties in the Pacific theatre of war:
90,332 British troops were casualties in the war against Japan, of which 29,968 died and 12,433 were held as prisoners of war. Of the Allied forces, the US suffered the greatest losses, with more than 100,000 killed in action. Estimates put Chinese losses both civilian and military, at approximately 20 million, others suggest the figure could be as high as 50 million. Over 2.6 million Japanese people lost their lives including a million civilians killed as a result of military action, disease or starvation.
The UK government have announced a series of events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. These include an event at the National Memorial Arboretum to honour VJ veterans, which will be broadcast live. The Red Arrows will join historic Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft for a flypast over the national VJ Day 80 commemorations.
Members of the public will also be encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence on Friday 15 August, and to organise their own local events to commemorate the anniversary.

 

Badly worded. For clarification. 12,433 were killed or died as POWs of the Japanese, a death rate of 24.8%. Not including Commonwealth or Indian troops.

Tim

 

Tim, there is a "feedbacks and complaints" at the bottom of the page linked in post 49. I was just "copying and pasting", as ever.

The Lords had a debate on 9th May 2025 which can be seen on House of Lords TV: "That this House takes note of the 80th Anniversary of Victory in Europe and Victory over Japan."

Parliamentlive.tv

The Hansard text is here:

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Lords...niversaryOfVictoryInEuropeAndVictoryOverJapan

11.01 a.m. : Baroness Hunter of Auchenreoch:

"My father, Mac Hunter, a second-generation rubber planter, joined the Federated Malay States Volunteer Force at the outbreak of war and was called up following the Japanese invasion in December 1942. He fought his way down the Malay Peninsula to Singapore, chased by the formidable Japanese army. Of the 160 men in his unit, only 40 survived. He escaped in a fortuitously flat-bottomed fishing boat. In a letter a few weeks later, he wrote, “Five days out and up comes a sub, 100 yards in front of us, and looses off three torpedoes. Although I had been in action, ambushed, bombed, shelled, mortared, machine-gunned and several times almost captured, these were easily my worst moments. I honestly thought it was the end. But no, one passed in front and two went clean underneath. I arrived in Colombo in the clothes I stood up in and with 60 cents”."

Sundry other links to proceedings in re VJ day:

VJ Holidays (Hansard, 8 November 1945)

VICTORY CELEBRATIONS (Hansard, 18 April 1946)

REMEMBRANCE DAY (DATE) (Hansard, 28 October 1954)

VE Day (40th Anniversary) (Hansard, 28 January 1985)

Commemoration of VJ-Day (Hansard, 3 December 1985)

VJ Day (Hansard, 20 March 1985)

VJ Day (Hansard, 6 June 1995)

VJ Day Commemorations (Hansard, 19 June 1995)

 

For VE Day we were asked by the Parish Council to Put up placards on signposts throughout the village, they were noticed by a lot of people. They are still up and this week I have been asked again by the Parish Council if I can remove these and replace them with VJ Day signs. Which of course we shall do.

 

With the anniversary of VJ day approaching I went through what little family memorabilia I have for the event. One item that stood out was from my grandfather, being a programme for a celebratory dinner for the middle management at Avro's Newton Heath works, where my grandfather was the Works Manager. What struck me as odd was that it has the date 12th August 1945 on it, three days before VJ day.
Events like this take some time to arrange so, were they psychic or was this a delayed VE day celebration that accidentally nearly coincided with VJ day?

 

Antiques Roadshow - Series 48: 2. VJ Day Special - BBC iPlayer https://share.google/nlpHtkfoYNMJNXsa6

An interesting Antiques Roadshow VJ Day Special this evening. Some great stories about POW camps, building railways, etc. Worth a look.

 

BBMF to take part in VJ Day flypast.

BBC News - Historic aircraft to take part in VJ Day flypast
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight to mark 80th anniversary of VJ Day

 

Very pleased to see that there are a number of Events to mark V.J. Day 80 throughout Northern Ireland.
Andy.

 

Good to see all three planes (Lancaster, Hurricane, Spitfire) flying today, and seeing them going over 3 times was a bonus.

 

Although I didn't make it....I thought the commemorations at the National Arboretum were generally a good effort by the RBL & BBC. A couple of mistakes were made by the narrators, but it is a tough gig and it was obviously very hot.

 

York's 100-year-old D-Day veteran marks VJ Day

 

It was nice to read the coverage of VJ Day on BBC, lots of veteran stories, from all of the Commonwealth forces.