Monday 15th August 2022 is the 77th anniversary of VJ Day, marking both the surrender of Japan and the end of the Second World War.

The Union Flag is flying at the Town War Memorial as a mark of respect for the 4 Harleston men who lost their lives in the Far East.

1. Company Sergeant Major Charles Henry Chamberlain, 4th Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment who died in Malaysia on 26th February 1942, aged 34. Charles is commemorated at the Singapore Memorial, in the Kranji war cemetery, 22 kilometres north of Singapore.

2. Private Leonard George Howard, 5th Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment who died in Takpinun, Thailand on 31st August 1943, aged 34. He was buried at Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, Thailand.

3. Private James Robert Loome, 5th Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment who died in Japan on 6th March 1944, aged 40. He is commemorated at Yokohama War Cemetery, Japan.

4. Corporal Walter Wisken, 4th Battalion Royal Norfolk Regiment who died in Tai-kol-nun on 20th July 1943, aged 29. He is commemorated on the Singapore Memorial.

The morning of August 15, 1945, dawned with the realization that after a long war resulting in some 60 million deaths worldwide, WWII was finally over and Victory in Japan (VJ Day) had arrived.

Whilst VE Day marked the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, many thousands of Armed Forces personnel were still involved in bitter fighting in the Far East. Victory over Japan would come at a heavy price, and Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) today, marks the 75th anniversary of the day Japan surrendered, which in effect ended the Second World War.

Many of the men and women who fought in the Far East considered themselves forgotten. They were often referred to as The Forgotten Army.

The conditions during the Far East campaign were very different from those during the war in Europe. British, Commonwealth and Allied troops fought across oceans, in monsoon drenched jungles, on snow-covered hills, and in scorching tropical heat on remote islands.

Fighting took place from Hawaii to the North East borders of India and from Papua New Guinea in the south to Manchuria in northern China on the border of the Soviet Union.

By 1945 across Asia and the Pacific there were 365,000 British and 1.5 million Commonwealth troops were deployed, including the largest volunteer army in history, the pre-partition Indian army of 2.5 million soldiers. The men and women who fought came from all corners of the world, from Ghana to Bangladesh and from Fiji to Zambia. The British and the Commonwealth’s principal fighting force in the region - the Fourteenth Army – was one of the most diverse army’s in history, where it is estimated at least 40 languages were spoken. The descendants of many of the Commonwealth veterans of that army are today part of multicultural communities up and down the country, a lasting legacy to the success and comradeship of those who fought in the Asia-Pacific.

But for the British and Commonwealth forces, the war against Japan was marked by extremes. The surrender of Malaya and Singapore constituted arguably the Britain’s worst defeat of the Second World War in 1942, when approximately 9,000 British, pre-partition Indian, and Commonwealth troops were lost and around 130,000 taken prisoners of war. While in 1944 at the battles of Kohima and Imphal, the Fourteenth Army inflicted on the Japanese Army its greatest ever defeat.

Despite the magnitude of the war in the Far East, many feel that their contribution has been forgotten or deliberately overlooked.

Also let us remember the other local heroes who survived and returned home. They were forced to engage in the hard labour of constructing railways, roads, airfields, etc. to be used by the Japanese Armed Forces in the occupied areas. Including, Ted Flint, Wally Newby, Billy Blyth, Charlie Keeble, Lenny Bond. Apologies for any other names I have not mentioned as there is no known list of those that returned. Please comment any known names or message Terry Pegg at Harleston Royal British Legion.

Also not forgotten who served in the Far East is Don Mortimer, a veterinary surgeon from Harleston. Don got mentioned in dispatches for his work with Mules in Burma.

Let us ensure that none of these men who served in the Far East are ever forgotten.