Lord Lieutenant in VJ Day tribute on eve of 75th anniversary - The Redditch Standard

Lord Lieutenant in VJ Day tribute on eve of 75th anniversary

Redditch Editorial 14th Aug, 2020   0

HER Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, Lt Col Patrick Holcroft LVO OBE, pays tribute on the eve of VJ Day’s 75th anniversary marking peace in Japan and the end of the Second World War.

He said: “The 75th anniversary of the formal surrender of Japan, and with it the ending of the Second World War, will fall on Saturday August 15, 2020.

“After six years of intense global struggle, Britain was finally at peace and the forces which had threatened the nation’s existence, values and way of life had finally been defeated–with the significant help and sacrifice of our allies.

Earlier this year, we remembered the 75th Anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany on VE Day. But even though by May 1945 the war in Europe was over, the struggle in the Far East was to continue for another four months.




Since December 1941, British and Empire forces had been involved in a long and costly struggle against a remorseless and implacable foe.

Those service personnel captured by the Japanese early in the war in places such as Hong Kong and Singapore suffered unimaginable hardships in captivity.


After early Japanese successes, British and Empire forces serving in the British XIV Army regrouped and fought back in mountainous, jungle-clad terrain in extreme conditions of heat and monsoon to inflict a comprehensive defeat on the Japanese in Burma.

This victory altered the course of the war and within all ranks of XIV Army, it set an example of multi-racial comradeship and cooperation which has particular resonance for us today.

Amongst those involved in this campaign were men and women from Worcestershire and a certain Colonel Sir Tom Moore, whose incredible fortitude surprised us all this summer and whose fundraising for NHS Charities was recently recognised by Her Majesty The Queen.”

The Prince of Wales, accompanied by Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, will lead the UK in a national moment of remembrance and thanksgiving for all those who served in the Far East at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire as part of a special televised service.

There will be a two minute silence at 11am.

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