The people of Mansfield are being invited to join Executive Mayor Andy Abrahams and representatives of the Royal British Legion to commemorate the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan (VJ) Day.
The ceremony will be held at the War Memorial at Mansfield Civic Centre on Friday 15 August. It starts at 11.30am and will join a nationwide two minute’s silence at 12noon.
The Rev Dr Caroline Phillips, Vicar of St Peter and Paul’s Church in Mansfield, will say words of remembrance for all those who served or died during the Far East campaign during the Second World War.
Wreaths will be laid by the Royal British Legion, the Mayor and other dignitaries. The Last Post and Reveille will be played by a bugler and there will be readings, prayers and the National Anthem.
The Mayor said: “We really hope Mansfield residents and organisations will come and support this act of remembrance to mark 80 years since VJ Day which effectively ended World War Two.
“Although Europe had already celebrated the surrender of German forces on VE Day on 8 May 1945, thousands of British, Commonwealth and Allied Armed Forces personnel continued to be involved in fighting in the Far East for three more months. It is important not to forget the sacrifices they made.”
The council’s Armed Forces Champion Cllr Richard Tempest-Mitchell added: “August 15 is arguably the most important date that we can commemorate. World War Two effectively ended on that date after approximately 80 million people - the majority civilians - had died across the world, including 200,000 civilians in Japan after the bombs above Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“We owe our freedoms to the millions of brave men and women of the Allied forces who fought in the Second Word War. VJ Day is our opportunity to commemorate those who fought for those freedoms and to remember those we lost.”
It you require a wreath to lay during the ceremony, please email Cllr Tempest-Mitchell at RTM@mansfield.gov.uk by 5pm Monday 11 August. Requests would require a £25 donation to the Royal British Legion.