London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

UK commemorates 75th anniversary as royals lead tributes

The Royal Family is to lead the UK's commemorations of the 75th anniversary of VJ Day - the day World War Two ended with Japan's surrender.

The Prince of Wales will attend a memorial while the Duke of Cambridge will appear in a special TV programme.

The Duke of Edinburgh will also feature in commemorations, appearing on screens across the country in a photo montage with other veterans.

The PM paid tribute to veterans for restoring "peace and prosperity".

VJ Day - or Victory in Japan Day - on 15 August 1945 ended one of the worst episodes in British military history, during which tens of thousands of servicemen were forced to endure the brutalities of prisoner of war camps.

It is estimated that there were 71,000 British and Commonwealth casualties of the war against Japan, including more than 12,000 prisoners of war who died in Japanese captivity. More than 2.5 million Japanese military personnel and civilians are believed to have died over the course of the conflict.

What's taking place today?


The commemorations will begin at sunrise, with a piper playing Battle's Over at the Imperial War Museum's HMS Belfast in London.

Military pipers will also be playing at dawn in India, Australia, New Zealand and Nepal. In Japan, national memorial services will be held in Tokyo at 04:00 BST.

At 11:00 BST, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall will attend a national service of remembrance and lead a two-minute silence from the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. The service will be broadcast on the BBC.

Mr Johnson will read the Exhortation - the part of the war poem beginning "they shall grow not old" - before the nation falls silent, and afterwards the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will take part in a flypast.

The Red Arrows will perform a flypast over the cities of Edinburgh (11:30), Belfast (14:00), Cardiff (14:45) and London (17:30) - the first time such a flypast will take place since the London Olympics.

A photo montage featuring Prince Philip and other veterans will be shown on a number of large screens across the UK.

On Saturday evening, the BBC will air a pre-recorded programmed from 20:30 called VJ Day 75: The Nation's Tribute, which will tell the story of those who served in the Far East and include a message from Prince William.

Boris Johnson has joined other world leaders including US President Donald Trump in recording a video message to thank veterans.

In the video, each leader says in turn: "To all who served, we thank you."

Mr Johnson added: "On this 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, we pay tribute to the heroes deployed thousands of miles away in the mountains, islands and rainforests of Asia.

"Unable to celebrate the victory in Europe, and among the last to return home, today we recognise the bravery and ingenuity of those who, in the face of adversity, restored peace and prosperity to the world.

"Their immeasurable sacrifice changed the course of history and, at today's commemorations, we take the opportunity to say what should be said every day - thank you."

'Courage in adversity'


In a letter specifically addressed to Far East veterans, Mr Johnson said: "You were the last to come home but your achievements are written in the lights of the glittering capitals of the dynamic region we see today."

"All of us who were born after you have benefited from your courage in adversity. On this anniversary, and every day hereafter, you will be remembered," he added.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also recorded a message, paying tribute "to the wartime generation, who through the horrors of conflict showed us the spirit and determination that we need to always remember and always be grateful for".

"It's important that as we face the challenges of today, we take inspiration from that generation," he said.

Prince Philip, 99, was a young Royal Navy officer aboard a warship in Tokyo Bay when Japan surrendered.

The photo montage will be a rare appearance for the duke, who has only been seen a handful of times in public since retiring in 2017 - most recently for a military event at Windsor Castle.

Meanwhile Capt Sir Tom Moore, who served in the Burma campaign has previously encouraged the public to join in the commemorations, describing VJ Day as "the most special day".

"It was VJ Day when the pain of war could finally start to fall away as peace was declared on all fronts," said Sir Tom - who raised millions of pounds for NHS charities by walking laps of his garden during lockdown.

"I respectfully ask Britain to stop whatever it is doing and take some time to remember.

"We must all take the time to stop, think and be thankful that were it not for the ultimate sacrifices made all those years ago by such a brave band of men and women, we would not be enjoying the freedoms we have today, even in these current difficult times."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×