The King and Queen will honour Second World War veterans on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.
Royal British Legion (RBL) will be guests of honour at a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield in Staffordshire on Friday.
Among them will be 33 veterans aged from 96 to 105 who served in the Far East and Pacific.
Charles, patron of the RBL, Camilla, and Sir Keir Starmer will attend the event which honours British, Commonwealth and Allied veterans who served in the Far East theatres of war including Myanmar and the Pacific and Indian Ocean territories.
Ahead of the service, the King, in an pre-recorded audio address to the nation, will vow that the sacrifice of heroes who fought and died in the campaigns “shall never be forgotten”.
He will reflect on the horrors experienced by prisoners of war and innocent civilians of occupied lands in the region “whose suffering reminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life”.
Charles will describe how the collaboration of countries demonstrated “in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link”.
Around 1,500 guests at the national commemoration will hear first-hand testimony from veterans who experienced conflict in the Far East before the war ended when atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan’s surrender and VJ Day on 15 August 1945.
The service will begin with a national two-minute silence and include flypasts by the Red Arrows and the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’s Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster – with military bagpipers playing at dawn in the Far East section of the Arboretum.
The prime minister held a special reception at Downing Street for veterans on Thursday, at which he described the government as one of “service”.
He added: “I sat on this terrace this very morning with President Zelensky, who is fighting for the same values as we were fighting for.
“And so when we say never forget, we must pass on the stories of those who have gone before us.”
During Thursday’s garden party, veteran Stanley Elliss, aged 103, and his daughter, could be seen showing the prime minister pictures he had taken during the war.
Sir Keir said: “Eighty years since our victory in the Second World War, we pay our respects to the many who fought, were captured, and made the ultimate sacrifice in the Far East.
“Our country owes a great debt to those who fought for a better future, so we could have the freedoms and the life we enjoy today. We must honour that sacrifice with every new generation.”
Many of the veterans at the Arboretum in Alrewas, Staffordshire, have never told their story before registering with the RBL to be part of commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory Over Japan.
Veterans attending the event on Friday served in the British Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, with roles ranging from those deployed on submarines, minesweepers and destroyers, to a Spitfire pilot and a combat cameraman.
The oldest veterans are Yavar Abbas and Owen Filer, aged 105, and other attendees include two of the last surviving Chindits – Charlie Richards, 104, and Sid Machin, 101 – who served in the elite Special Forces unit known for their deep jungle warfare tactics as part of Operation Thursday.
Mr Richards, from Northamptonshire – who served in the 7th Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment, spent months behind enemy lines ambushing Japanese supplies and communications, all while pulling along reluctant mules and heavy equipment.
He said: “I am so proud to attend the RBL’s national event, and I think it will be a really poignant moment for those of us left.
“I want to represent all those who saw action in the Far East and remember those who never made it home, including my best friend and comrade, Son Johnson, who was killed in action in Burma. It will be such a special day for me and my family.”
Joseph Hammond, 100, whose testimony will be shared during the service, will be watching the live broadcast from his home in Ghana 3,000 miles away.
Mr Hammond fought in Burma in the 82nd Division in brutal conditions near the Irrawaddy River and suffered a serious eye injury and remained in hospital until the war ended.
In 2020, he walked 14 miles over seven days to raise £500,000 for frontline workers and veterans during the Covid pandemic.
Mr Hammond said: “Why should such a thing happen? Man killing his fellow man. Humanity, destroying humanity. Never allow your country to go that way. It’s no good. I know how it feels, so I have to advise everybody to keep away from war. Let us continue to enjoy our peace.”
The service will be broadcast live on BBC One from 11.30am and will be hosted by actress and author Celia Imrie.
Imrie said: “It is an honour to be hosting this momentous occasion with The Royal British Legion, to pay tribute to these courageous and inspiring veterans who are able to join us at the National Memorial Arboretum on VJ Day, and to remember those who never made it home.”
Mark Atkinson, director general of the Royal British Legion, said: “It is an enormous privilege for the RBL to be leading the nation on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day with our service of remembrance at National Memorial Arboretum broadcast live on BBC One.
“Victory over Japan would not have been possible without the diverse contribution of Allied Forces from Britain, the Commonwealth and beyond, and this is one of our last chances to thank veterans who fought in the Far East and Pacific for their service and sacrifice.
“Their contribution brought an end to the Second World War and this is a moment for the country to come together and commemorate this momentous anniversary and pay tribute to their courage and bravery.”
Around 5 million men and women served in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War, with millions more mobilised from countries including pre-partition India, Australia, Canada, and across the Commonwealth including African and Caribbean nations.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “We must never forget this vital part of our national story. By coming together to hear the stories of our brave VJ Day veterans first-hand, we can ensure that the legacy of our British Armed Forces and those from across the Commonwealth is passed on to future generations.”
From 9pm on Friday evening, hundreds of buildings across the country will be lit up to mark VJ 80, including Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, the Houses of parliament, the Tower of London, Tower42, The Shard, Blackpool Tower, Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Durham Cathedral, Cardiff Castle, the Cenotaph, the Kranji War Memorial in Singapore and the White Cliffs of Dover.
