Haverhill Town Council will commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
Friday 15 August – Flag raising ceremony at 9:00am on the Market Square.
Thursday 21 August – Commemoration to be held in St. Mary’s Church at 7:00pm.
The commemoration will include readings, musical performances, film footage and stories of Haverhill servicemen. There will also be a retelling of the story of the 18th Division in the Far East and VJ Day in Haverhill, and a roll call of known local servicemen who served in the Far East, honouring both those who returned and those who, tragically, did not.
What is VJ Day?
The 80th anniversary of VJ Day (Victory over Japan) takes place on Friday 15 August 2025, commemorating the end of the Second World War.
While VE Day (Victory in Europe) marked the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, many thousands of Armed Forces personnel were still engaged in fighting in the Far East. Victory over Japan would come at a heavy price, and Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) marks the day Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, which ended the Second World War.
Fighting in the Asia-Pacific took place from Hawaii to North East India. Britain and the Commonwealth’s principle fighting force, the Fourteenth Army, was one of the most diverse in history – more than 40 languages were spoken, and all the world’s major religions represented.
The descendants of many of the Commonwealth veterans of that army are today part of multicultural communities around the world, a lasting legacy to the success and comradeship of those who fought in the Asia-Pacific. (Information from VE-VJ Day 80)
VE/VJ Day History
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On May 8, 1945 - known as Victory in Europe Day or V-E Day - celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of World War II in Europe.
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On the 1st September 1939, two days before the outbreak of war, Britain was blacked out.
The Blackout imposed on everyone was absolute. No chinks of light, no see through curtains, no car headlights. Even the red glow of a cigarette was banned.
Britain was plunged into complete darkness.
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In 1939, The Ministry of Agriculture launched one of the most memorable slogans of the whole conflict - 'Dig for Victory'.
Everyone was encouraged to turn their gardens into mini-allotments.
Over just a few months, Britain was transformed with gardens, flowerbeds and parkland dug up to grow vegetables.
By 1943, over a million tons of vegetables were being grown in gardens and allotments.
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During the Second World War, many children living in big cities and towns were moved temporarily from their homes to places considered safer, usually out in the countryside.
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During World War II there was a shortage of all sorts of essential and non-essential foods as well as clothing, furniture and petrol.
It was decided that there had to be a way of allocating these goods equally and fairly to everyone, and so rationing was born.
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Before war was declared the government thought about how to protect people from possible bombing raids carried out by the German Air Force which was known as the Luftwaffe.