Commemorative Events for VJ Day’s 80th Anniversary

Newbury Town Council, in collaboration with local partners, has announced a programme of events to mark the 80th anniversary of VJ Day (Victory over Japan Day), commemorating the end of the Second World War and honouring those who served in the Far East.

On Friday 15 August at 11am, a commemorative service will take place at Newbury’s War Memorial, offering a time for the community to pay their respects to those who served and sacrificed during the conflict.

As well as the above event, “Revenge or Reconciliation: after war, then what?” takes place on Monday 11 August at the Newbury Royal British Legion at 2.30pm.  Introduced by Chairman of West Berks Council, Tony Vickers, and chaired by Bernard Clark (whose recently published novel “Nagasaki” is set in war-time Japan), it features a discussion about post-war political and physical reconstruction with Professor Ed Vickers, Professor of Comparative Education at Kyushu University, Kukuoka in Japan and Yukihisa Fujita, who experienced the war and the aftermath first hand in Japan.

And the Hungerford RBL is hosting a Sunset Service which takes place at 7.45pm on 15 August. The order of service can be found below.