Blackburn with Darwen borough will hold a VJ Day celebration

Blackburn with Darwen borough is to hold its own VJ Day celebration on August 15 in honour of the twice forgotten service people who fought in the Second World War’s Far East campaign.

Council leader Cllr Phil Riley proposed the event after being contacted by veterans’ groups concerned that the 80th anniversary of the defeat of Japan was not being properly marked nationally as VE Day on May 8 and victory over Nazi Garmany had been.

He told Blackburn with Darwen Council’s full Council Forum on Thursday: “August 15 is VJ Day.

“I had an uncle who was involved in what has become historically known as the ‘forgotten army’.

“Obviously VE Day happened and everybody got very excited.

“There was a group of servicemen and women still continuing to fight and live in terrible conditions in places like Burma.

“What is sad about this is that it looks like that same level of forgottenness is going to happen again.

“We obviously had national arrangements around VE Day and it looks like there are none at all for VJ Day.

“So a letter has come to me really saying can we just do something.

“It seems really sad to me that 80 years on the concept of the forgotten army is still really being continued.

“What I would like to suggest this is the kind of thing we should do.

“It does strike me that there is a story there.

“There is a mistake being made.

“It’s been made ever since 1945 and I think that’s just really sad.

“The appeal really to Blackburn with Darwen Council is that in our own small way we need to do whatever it is that we can to commemorate the soldiers, the servicemen and the prisoners of war particularly who continued to be occupied all the way through to the middle of August.

“They may well be forgotten by the nation but they shouldn’t be by us.”

Conservative group leader and borough armed forces champion Cllr John Slater said: “I agree with you about VJ Day.

“I think its remiss.

“If someone has seen all the historic filming of how barbarically they were treated, they would just cringe.

“I think they were the forgotten and there were so many people who suffered when they came back and it wasn’t recognised the trauma that they went through.”

Cllr Mustafa Desai, leader of the 4BwD opposition group said: “I’d like to lend my support to an proposal that you come up with regarding VJ Day.”