King Charles III and Queen Camilla led the Royal Family to mark the 80th Anniversary of Victory over Japan (VJ) Day on August 15th, which marked the surrender of Japan forces and essentially ended the Second World War. This follows the Parade at Buckingham Palace, Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey, and Concert on Horse Guards Parade to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day in May.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla attended the Victory over Japan (VJ) Day 80th Anniversary Service of Remembrance held by the Royal British Legion at the National Memorial Arboretum.
A national two-minute silence was concluded with a flypast from the RAF Red Arrows.
Their Majesties joined veterans and other guests to honour those who served in the Far East and the Pacific during the Second World War.
A flypast by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight of historic aircraft drew the service to a close.
Following the service, the King viewed memorials and met members of VJ associations, including the Burma Star Memorial Fund, The Chindit Society, Far East Prisoners of War and Children of Far East Prisoners of War, at the Far East Corner of the National Memorial Arboretum.
At a reception, the King and Queen met around 30 veterans who served in the Far East during the Second World War for the British and Commonwealth Armed Forces, accompanied by their families and carers.
The reception brought together veterans who served in the Pacific and Indian Ocean territories, those who were Prisoners of War in the region, and veterans stationed throughout the UK and Commonwealth who contributed to the war effort in the Far East.
On VJ Day, the Duke and the Duchess of Edinburgh attended a service at the Scottish National War Memorial, Edinburgh Castle, organised by the Royal British Legion Scotland.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attended the Far East Prisoners of War VJ Day 80th Anniversary Service at Norwich Cathedral, before joining a second commemorative service dedicated to the Children and Families of the Far East Prisoners of War in Suffolk.
Events to commemorate the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day will conclude with a Reception for veterans at Windsor Castle later in the Autumn. The King delivered an audio message to mark the historic anniversary.
For the millions of families gathered around their wireless sets, and for their loved ones still serving far from home, it was the message a battle-weary world had long prayed for. ‘The war is over’, declared my Grandfather, King George VI, in his address to the nation and Commonwealth on V.J. Day eighty years ago today – four short words after six long years of bloodshed, fear and suffering. Seldom can a simple message have resonated with such a potent mix of relief, celebration, and sorrow for those who never lived to see the glow of freedom’s new dawn.
On this day of profound remembrance, I speak to you in that same spirit of commemoration and celebration as we honour anew all those whose service and sacrifice saw the forces of liberty prevail.
While that final victory in The Pacific was achieved under the strategic command of our steadfast American allies, the war in South East Asia had reached its climax under the leadership of my great uncle, Lord Mountbatten, from whom I learned so much about the particular horrors and heroism witnessed in those furthest fields of combat. The forces aligned under him comprised over one million men and women, drawn from many different countries, religions and communities, but united by common purpose and indomitable spirit. Twenty Nine Victoria Crosses bear eloquent testimony to their valour, but I know full well of the toll it took on so many – measured not only in gravestones, but in the mental and physical scars of those who survived.
Despite the unyielding support of their devoted battlefield commander, General William Slim, the forces on the ground sometimes considered themselves ‘the Forgotten Army’. But, as Patron of the now Burma Star Memorial Fund, and having attended one of the great Burma Star Reunions at the Albert Hall with Lord Mountbatten when the Hall was filled with thousands of bemedalled veterans, it has been my privilege to reassure the remaining veterans that they and their fallen comrades shall never be forgotten.
Nor are they alone in our thoughts today for, high above those monsoon-lashed jungles Allied pilots displayed their own fearless bravery, flying fighters, bombers and transport aircraft into enemy fire and Nature’s fury.
We recall, too, the prisoners of war who endured years of brutal captivity: the starvation, disease and cruelty that tested the very limits of human endurance. Innocent civilian populations of occupied territories faced grievous hardships, too. Their experience reminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life – a tragedy all-too vividly demonstrated by conflicts around the world today.
On this landmark anniversary, we should also pause to acknowledge that in the war’s final act, an immense price was paid by the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – a price we pray no nation need ever pay again.
But in recalling so much suffering, we must not lose sight of how great was the cause and how sweet the victory. For those heroes of V.J. Day gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected.
Countries and communities that had never before fought together learned to co-ordinate their efforts across vast distances, faiths and cultural divides. Together they proved that, in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear, but the arms you link. That remains a vital lesson for our times.
So to the families of all those who served, and to that sadly dwindling band of veterans among us still, please know that the courage and camaraderie displayed in humanity’s darkest hour is a flame that shall blaze for eternity – a beacon that honours our past and guides our future.
Let us therefore pledge to be vigilant guardians of the values they bequeathed to us. And let us, above all, remember the epitaph in the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery on the battlefield of Kohima: ‘When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say, For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today‘.
The Royal Family joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla for the VE Day 80th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey on May 8th, following the Parade at Buckingham Palace and ahead of the Concert on Horse Guards Parade to mark the 80th Anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day which marked the end of the Second World War in Europe.
