Aug 2020
Jubilee Lodge celebrates VJ Day
Jubilee Lodge in Bourton on the Water hosted a special commemorative day to remember Victory over Japan Day which effectively ended the war in 1945.
In 1945 the End of World War II was celebrated on Victory over Japan (VJ) Day. There was much joy and celebration around the world when on 15th August 1945 US President Harry S Truman declared the day as Victory over Japan Day, at a White House press conference.
At midnight, the British prime Minister Clement Atlee confirmed the news in a broadcast saying, “The last of our enemies is laid low.” The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to Britain’s allies, in Australia and New Zealand, India, Burma, all countries occupied by Japan and to the USSR. But special thanks went to the United States “without whose prodigious efforts the war in the East would still have many years to run”.
The following evening King George VI addressed the nation and the Empire in a broadcast from his study at Buckingham Palace. “Our hearts are full to overflowing, as are your own. Yet there is not one of us who has experienced this terrible war who does not realise that we shall feel its inevitable consequences long after we have all forgotten our rejoicings today.”
Many of the residents at Jubilee Lodge were just young children in 1945 but many can remember the atmosphere at the time. Jubilee Lodge made activity packs for their residents which included a quiz and some key facts and information about VJ Day plus a war songs singalong. Residents reminisced about VJ day and we discussed the use of nuclear bombs with a wide range of opinions.
The whole home watched the VJ ceremony on the television which everyone enjoyed, and they honoured the 2 minutes silence as a token of respect and a reminder of 15th August 1945.