Her Majesty The Queen and members of The Royal Family will attend a series of events on Saturday 15 August to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day 70).
In the morning, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh will attend a service to mark the 70th anniversary, together with veterans, former prisoners of war and civilian internees at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church, Trafalgar Square, organised by National FEPOW (Far East Prisoners of War) Fellowship Welfare Remembrance Association. Among the congregation will be representatives of all Regiments that made up the 18th Infantry Division of 1942 who were deployed to the Far East and representatives from Commonwealth nations who also served.
At 1400, Their Royal Highnesses The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will join further veterans and their families, tri-Service bands and pipes and drums, and current members of the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force at a special commemorative event hosted by Her Majesty’s Government and The Royal British Legion on Horse Guards Parade. Senior military and political representatives will also be in attendance.
The event at Horse Guards will begin in spectacular style with a flypast of four historic aircraft, a Spitfire, Dakota and Hurricane of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and a Royal Navy Swordfish, together with a current RAF Typhoon. The event will also include a drumhead service and wreath-laying ceremony, special readings and hymns sung by the Gwalia Male Voice Choir and the London Welsh Male Voice Choir.
Afterwards, veterans, civilian internees, their descendants and families along with current personnel will move down Whitehall and through Parliament Square to Westminster Abbey – passing the statue of Field Marshal Slim – in a special 70th anniversary parade. Along the route they will be supported by military bands, and the final part of the route will be lined by current personnel. A reception will then take place in the grounds of Westminster Abbey, hosted by The Royal British Legion.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “It is important that we take this opportunity to pay tribute to the courage and fortitude of all those whose actions led to the final victory of Allied Forces in the Second World War.
“This major anniversary is a time to recognise the sacrifices made by those who lost their lives, the veterans who fought, and the prisoners of war and civilian internees who suffered for their country. I would urge the nation to attend the many events up and down the country 70 years on from the victory in Japan.”
Victor Knibb, 90, of Hampton in Surrey, is the Vice-Chairman of the Burma Star Association and served with the 4th Battalion The Royal West Kent Regiment. He said: “VJ Day means a lot to me. Around 97,000 British and Commonwealth troops died out there and more than 120,000 Japanese died in that war.
Knibb added: To me, VJ Day is for the memory of those men who didn’t come back. Without them we wouldn’t have had 70 years of peace and comfort.”
A highlight of the event at Horse Guards will be famed actor Charles Dance reading the poem ‘The Road to Mandalay’ by Rudyard Kipling. The poem was famously set to music and was a favourite marching tune for many in the 14th Army in Burma, commanded by Field Marshal Lord Slim during the campaign. Speaking of his role at the event, Charles Dance said: “It is an absolute honour to be involved in the national commemorative events for the 70th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day. I would encourage everyone to attend the parade on Whitehall to show their gratitude to this extraordinary generation of individuals.
“When the Second World War ended in Europe in May 1945 British and Commonwealth military personnel and civilians in the Far East were still at war, still on the frontline and still in prisoner of war camps. VJ Day 70 on 15 August presents an opportunity for us to publicly recognise the sacrifices of the veterans, internees and their descendants, and the conditions they endured during the dark years of the Second World War.”
The public is being urged to support this anniversary by lining the street of Whitehall to watch the aircraft flypast, view the event in Horse Guards Parade on big screens and cheer on the veterans as they parade supported by military bands and current serving personnel.