The 75th anniversary of VJ Day was marked in Burnham-On-Sea on Saturday (August 15th) with a special ceremony.
Burnham’s branch of the Royal British Legion held a brief ceremony besides the town’s War Memorial outside Burnham Hospital in Love Lane.
The ceremony, held in light drizzle, was attended by Burnham and Highbridge Mayor Cllr Mike Facey, plus Royal British Legion members, and around 20 residents.
John Crosby, Chairman of Burnham’s branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “We are gathered here as the nation remembers and commemorates victory in Japan, the day on which Imperial Japan surrendered in WW2, thus bringing the war to an end. We remember all of those who served and sacrificed in the Asia Pacific.”
After the Exhortation was recited, The Last Post was played by bugler Ophelia Buckton, who is a member of Burnham Marching Brass Band.
The branch standard was dipped as a mark of homage, followed by two minutes’ silence at exactly 11am.
This was followed by the bugler playing the Reveille. Mr Crosby recited the Kohima Epitaph and he then laid a wreath on the memorial.
Historians say that while VE Day marks the end of the Second World War in Europe, VJ Day signals the end of the war entirely.
Victory over Japan Day is the celebration of the anniversary of Japan’s surrender, which came more than three months after Nazi Germany waved the white flag.
A day of national events was held. At sunrise, kicking off the day of tributes, lone pipers played “Battle’s O’er” at sunrise at HMS Belfast in London. A service of remembrance was broadcast on BBC One and the Red Arrows were set to perform a country wide fly-past, however the wet weather meant they did not fly over the Burnham area as planned.
