Photo Gallery: VJ Day 80th Anniversary Commemorations and Celebrations
Events were held in Wirral to commemorate and celebrate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day (Victory over Japan) on Friday 15 August.
The Mayor and Mayoress visited Hamilton Square in Birkenhead to lay a wreath at the Burma Star Association stone and view the memorial plaque to all those who suffered in the jungles and Japanese prisoner of war camps during World War II.
A Civic Service was then held at the Port Sunlight War Memorial, followed by a 1940s-themed tea dance in Wallasey Town Hall.
The Mayor of Wirral, Councillor Brian Kenny, said:
Today, we pay tribute to the brave men and women from Wirral who served in the Far East, many in what came to be known as the ‘forgotten war’. But here, in this borough, we do not forget. We remember the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who endured intense fighting in the jungles of Burma and across the Pacific. We honour the prisoners of war who suffered unimaginable hardships and who returned home forever changed.
To all those who served, and to the families who waited, who mourned, and who still carry the weight of memory - we say thank you.
You are not forgotten. You never will be.
May we remember them. May we honour them.
And may we live each day in a way that is worthy of their legacy.
When you go home tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow we gave our today.
Presented by the Wirral Branch of the Burma Star Association. in Remembrance of those who fell on the Burma Campaign and those who have died since
This plaque is dedicated to the men who endured such hardship in the jungles and Japanese prisoner of war camps during WW2.
The image depicts their dependence on each other to get through those dark days .
"When you go home tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow, we gave our today"
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
