Eighty years ago today, the world finally exhaled. The guns fell silent in the Pacific, Japan surrendered, and families gathered around crackling wireless sets to hear King George VI deliver the words they’d long prayed for, the war was over.
Now, eight decades later, his grandson, King Charles III, has marked the milestone with a deeply personal tribute, pledging that the men and women whose courage brought peace “shall never be forgotten.”
In a moving audio message recorded earlier this month, the King reflected on the “service and sacrifice” of all who fought in the Pacific and Far East, from the Allied pilots who stared danger in the face to the prisoners of war who endured years of captivity.
“On this day of profound remembrance, I speak to you in that same spirit of commemoration and celebration as we honour all those whose service and sacrifice saw the forces of liberty prevail,” he said.
Today, the King and Queen will join Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire for a service of remembrance. It’s part of a nationwide commemoration for Victory over Japan Day, VJ Day, which marks the day in 1945 when Japan’s surrender brought the Second World War to an end.
The Forgotten Army No More
An estimated 71,000 soldiers from Britain and the Commonwealth died in the fight against Japan, including more than 12,000 prisoners of war. Many served in what became known as the “Forgotten Army, those who fought in the jungles of Burma under General William Slim and Lord Mountbatten, Charles’s great-uncle.
As Patron of the Burma Star Memorial Fund, the King has made it his mission to assure veterans that they and their fallen comrades will never be erased from history.
He also paid tribute to the civilians of occupied territories, whose suffering was no less than that of soldiers on the battlefield, and to the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, more than 200,000 people killed by atomic bombs in August 1945.
“Their experience reminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, a tragedy all-too vividly demonstrated by conflicts around the world today,” the King said.
Commemorations Across the Nation, and Beyond
The 80th anniversary events began last night at London’s Memorial Gates, with a sunset ceremony honouring Commonwealth troops. Images and stories were projected onto the gates, while Lord Boateng laid a wreath on the King’s behalf.
At dawn, the haunting lament Battle’s O’er rang out from bagpipers at the National Memorial Arboretum, Edinburgh Castle, and even a Japanese peace garden in west London, symbolising the reconciliation between Britain and Japan.
Later today, a national two-minute silence will end with a flypast from the Red Arrows, before the King and Queen meet surviving veterans and their families. Later this autumn, Windsor Castle will host a final commemorative reception.
In Japan, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba used his own anniversary address in Tokyo to stress the importance of peace, becoming the first leader since 2012 to use the word “remorse” in the official ceremony. Thousands braved the heat to visit the Yasukuni Shrine – a site that honours millions of war dead but remains controversial for enshrining convicted war criminals.
A Message That Still Resonates
King Charles ended his tribute with a call to unity, echoing the lesson of VJ Day itself:
“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.”
Eighty years on, the courage, camaraderie and sacrifice of those who fought in the Far East remain a blazing flame, one that, in the King’s words, “shall blaze for eternity.”
