by King Charles III has honoured those whose “service and sacrifice” helped to bring an end to World War Two in a personal message marking the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
In an audio message recorded earlier this month, the King vowed that those who fought and died in the Pacific and Far East “shall never be forgotten”.
The King and Queen, alongside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, will later attend a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to commemorate the anniversary.
VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day, is commemorated on 15 August each year, and marks the date in 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, ending the war.
An estimated 71,000 soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth died fighting in the war against Japan, including upwards of 12,000 prisoners of war held in Japanese captivity.
The King’s message started by reflecting on the moment 80 years ago that his grandfather, King George VI, announced to the nation and Commonwealth that the war was over.
“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 King said.
“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.”
The King noted that while the final victory in the Pacific was achieved under the strategic command of America, the war in South East Asia had reached its climax under the leadership of his great uncle, Lord Mountbatten.
Working with General William Slim, Mountbatten achieved the defeat of the Japanese offensive towards India and the reconquest of Burma.
But Slim’s soldiers became known as the “Forgotten Army”, because people back home in Britain were more focused on events in Europe.
The King acknowledged this in his message, but said that as Patron of the Burma Star Memorial Fund, “it has been my privilege to reassure the remaining veterans that they and their fallen comrades shall never be forgotten”.
King Charles also paid tribute to the Allied pilots, who he praised for displaying “their own fearless bravery”, the prisoners of war who endured years of captivity, and civilian populations of occupied territories who also faced “grievous hardships”.
“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,” the King observed.
He also acknowledged the “immense price” paid by the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The atomic bombings of the two Japanese cities in August 1945 killed more than 200,000 people – some from the immediate blast and others from radiation sickness and burns.
“But in recalling so much suffering, we must not lose sight of how great was the cause and how sweet the victory,” the King said.
He said that countries and communities had come together as part of the war effort, learning to coordinate across 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,” he said.
“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.”
Defence Secretary John Healey told BBC Breakfast that VJ Day offered lessons for the Ukraine war.
“The first lesson is that military and fighting solves nothing in the end, and that the end to war must come through talking, must come from diplomacy,” said Healey, ahead of talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
“And so today in Alaska is what I hope, we all hope to see, a first step towards serious negotiations.”
PA MediaVJ Day 80 commemorations started on Thursday evening with a sunset ceremony at the Memorial Gates in central London to pay tribute to Commonwealth personnel who served and died in the Far East.
A lightshow, images and stories from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s digital story-sharing platform For Evermore were projected on to the Memorial Gates.
Lord Boateng, chairman of the Memorial Gates Council, laid a wreath on behalf of the King during Thursday’s ceremony.
As dawn broke at the Cenotaph, Friday’s commemorations began with military bagpipers playing the lament Battle’s O’er in the Far East section of the National Memorial Arboretum and at Edinburgh Castle.
A piper also performed at a Japanese peace garden in west London to reflect the reconciliation which has taken place between the UK and Japan in the decades since the war ended.
At Friday’s service, a national two-minute silence will conclude with a flypast from the RAF Red Arrows.
It will be followed by a reception in which the King and Queen will meet veterans who served in the Far East during the Second World War, along with their families.
Events to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day will conclude with a reception for veterans at Windsor Castle later in the Autumn.
PAEvents are being held across Japan to mark the 80th anniversary of its defeat at the end of World War Two.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stressed the importance of “peace” amid global conflicts at a government ceremony in Tokyo.
“We should never repeat the devastation of war. We will never ever make a mistake in choosing the path to take,” Ishiba said.
“The remorse and lessons from that war should once again be engraved deeply in our hearts,” he said.
He is the first Japanese prime minister to have used the word “remorse” in the annual ceremony since 2012.
Thousands of people braved the heat to pay their respects at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo.
The site honours 2.5 million mostly Japanese soldiers who perished since the late 19th century, but also enshrines convicted war criminals.
AFP
