Tenbury Commemorates the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day.
At last, after months of lockdown and not being able to mark the 75th Anniversary of VE Day earlier this year, the Tenbury Branch of the Royal British Legion received permission to organise a 30 strong gathering, suitably socially distanced, to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day on Saturday 15th August. This was timely and very relevant, as a recent survey by a major Armed Forces charity revealed that almost half of Brits do not know what VJ Day is. Sadly, over half (52%) of those that previously did not know what VJ Day (Victory over Japan) is stated that they were not likely to do anything to remember VJ Day, even after discovering what the day marked.
This was not the case in Tenbury, where members of the Legion were joined in the town’s Memorial Gardens by the Deputy Mayor of Tenbury, Cllr Mary Drummond, Cllr Maggie Davies and Lesley Bruton, the Town Clerk. The Royal Naval Association was represented by their Branch Chairman, Ken Holloway and their Standard Bearer Roy Lewis, and the Town Band by their President, Mark Yarnold and Conductor, Melanie Parker. Mel played the two bugle calls: the Last Post and Reveille to coincide with the timing of the calls and the two minute silence at the National Memorial Arboretum, Alrewas. Mike Palmer carried the Union Standard and Edd Corfield was the Branch Standard Bearer. Prayers were conducted by the Branch Padre, the Rev Mark Inglis.
Major Richard Fox, President of Tenbury RBL, opened the proceedings with the Exhortation and, as we had not been able to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of VE Day on 8th May, this was followed by prayers remembering all who fought in the War in Europe and the thousands killed or wounded there. Our thoughts then went to the Far East, where fighting against the Japanese continued for a further three months before being brought to a close by the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the unconditional surrender of Japan by the Emperor Hirohito 75 years to the day, on the 15th August 1945
For those fighting in the jungles of Burma, including men from Tenbury and District serving with 7th Battalion the Worcestershire Regiment, the dense, impenetrable jungle would have been an alien environment, where the humidity, heat and monsoon created terrible conditions for movement and fighting. And with the rain came leaches and thick liquid mud, in which a march of ten miles with supplies and equipment could take three to four days instead of one. After months in Burma spirits were low and most soldiers were in a weakened condition from dysentery, malaria and lack of food. They battled on despite these odds and against an experienced, jungle hardened enemy. Spirits were lifted by performances given in jungle clearings, close to the front line and fighting, by the ‘Forces Sweetheart’ the late, great Dame Vera Lynn. Our ceremony closed with wreaths being laid to commemorate VE Day and VJ Day.
Private John Perkins of Tenbury was killed fighting with the 7th Battalion the Worcestershire Regiment at the Battle of Kohima and the following Tenbury men fought at Kohima to great effect with the 7th Worcesters: Bert Haywood, Jack Walker, Pryce Marston, Percy Jones, Justin Dipper and Tom Wormington, so the Kohima Epitaph delivered by Chris St Clair, the RBL Branch Chairman, was particularly poignant:
When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.
Men of the 14th Army considered themselves ‘The Forgotten Army’ and this short poem by a soldier of the Burma campaign remains relevant today:
Remember these men who fought so well, and lived and died in that green hell.
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1100hrs a 2 minutes silence. Following the Church service the parade retraces its route with the salute being taken by the Mayor, outside the Regal Cinema.