Witney Town Council is delighted to announce its commemorations for this year’s 80th Anniversary of VJ Day on Friday 15th August.
Our plans include the following activites:
9am A special VJ day cry from the Corn Exchange by the Town Crier accompanied by Mayor Cllr Andy Bailey and the Deputy Lieutenant Ron Spurs, with a flag raising immediately afterwards at the Town Hall.
From 10 am to 4pm Witney Museum will be hosting a special display of some of the photographs and books from the collection of Arthur Titherington (Local Japanese POW and Chair of the Japanese Labour Camp Survivors)
At 11am The Mayor of Witney will join the Royal British Legion in a Wreath Laying at the Church Green War Memorial. This will be followed by the Reinstating of the plaque and placing of tribute flowers by Witney Round Table on the refurbished Memorial Bench dedicated to Arthur Titherington located on Church Green.
12 noon A National two-minute silence will be marked.
12 noon to 2pm you are invited to join us at Tower Hill Chapel for refreshments and to Discover our Commonwealth War Graves walk, and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission app.
Throughout the day Royal British Legion will be selling poppies in the Market Square
On Sunday 17th August there will be a VJ Day 80 Civic Service
at St Mary’s Church, Church Green at 10:45
In the weeks leading up to VJ Day, community groups have been invited to enhance our war memorials located at The Leys, Newland, and Church Green. They are encouraged to tidy and decorate these sites as they choose. They will be rewarded with a Thank You picnic while they are working on their memorial.
We are also asking local knitting and crochet groups if they would like to create a peace and remembrance themed post- box topper (short notice permitting) and elsewhere in the community people are making Japanese origami cranes of peace for display in the Corn Exchange and admin office. Please get in touch if you would like to take part in this.
This day has a very different feel to that of VE Day and the planned commemorations reflect that.
Between VE and VJ Day forces that referred to themselves as the ’forgotten army’ fought on in South East Asia. Despite the VE day relief that war was over, there was also great sadness, as many anxiously awaited the safe return of loved ones from the Pacific War where the human cost was enormous, in terms of British and Commonwealth casualties and prisoners of war.
For those retuning home it sometimes took months or even years for them to be reunited with their families.
The focus for this day is quiet reflection and the hope of peace along with remembrance and gratitude for those who fought and especially for those that did not return.
