Express & Star

In Pictures: Veterans gather to remember fallen on VJ Day

A remembrance service was held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

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Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary

The 75th anniversary of VJ Day has been marked with a series of events honouring those who fought in the Far East, with some of the veterans who survived the conflict attending.

A remembrance service was held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, where a two-minute silence was led by the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall at 11am.

VJ Day commemorates the victory over the Japanese which signalled the very end of the Second World War.

Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
The national service of remembrance was held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire (Oli Scarff/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Charles laid a wreath (Molly Darlington/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Veterans arrive for the service (Oli Scarff/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
A veteran stands to greet the Prince of Wales (Oli Scarff/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Darbara Singh Bhullar, 97, lays a wreath (Molly Darlington/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Each veteran was given a bench to sit on to ensure social distancing (Oli Scarff/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Camilla paid tribute with a poppy posy (Molly Darlington/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to guests (Peter Byrne/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall during the commemoration (Oli Scarff/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace (Peter Byrne/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Three Spitfires, a Hurricane and a Lancaster bomber fly over the service (Peter Byrne/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
The Red Arrows fly over the Titanic slipway, the Titanic Museum and the Samson and Goliath cranes in Belfast (Brian Lawless/PA)

Earlier in the day, wreaths were laid at other memorials to battles within the Far East conflict.

VJ Day 75
Colour Sergeant Lil Bahadur Gurung playing the pipes in front of the Burma Star Memorial (Sgt Graham Taylor RAF/MoD/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Pipe Sergeant Neil Esslemont of RAF Halton Pipes & Drums in front of Tower Bridge in London (Dave Jenkins/MoD/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace lays a wreath at the Cenotaph, Whitehall (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
Victory in Japan Day 75th anniversary
Major General Chris Ghika CBE, the General Officer Commanding London District laying a wreath at the Gurkha Memorial in London (SAC Matty Smith/MoD/PA)
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