How the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War will be celebrated in Bury

Thursday, 14 August 2025 13:30

By Chris Gee

The 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and VJ Day will be commemorated with events around Bury.

This year marks 80 years since the end fo the war and there have already been a number of events commemorating Victory in Europe (VE Day), on May 8,
marking the Allied victory in Europe.

The war in the far east did not end until August 15, 1945 with VJ Day (Victory Over Japan).

Millions of British and Commonwealth troops joined allied forces in Asia and the Pacific with warfare across a vast geographic region. Battles were fought in jungle terrain and punishing tropical heat.

The campaign saw hundreds of thousands of British, Commonwealth and other allied troops taken prisoners of war (POWs), where they faced appalling
conditions, including disease, starvation, forced labour and brutality.

Others made the ultimate sacrifice for peace.

After the fighting stopped on August 15, it would take several months for many POWs, servicemen and women to return home to Britain, where their harrowing wartime experiences would continue to take a toll.

VJ Day marked the end of the Second World War which had begun with the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939.

In Bury, a civic service of commemoration will take place on Friday, August 15 at the World War Two memorial within the grounds of Bury Parish Church
(to the left of the main entrance to the church).

The service will include the laying of wreaths in remembrance, the reading of memories of 1945 from Bury’s Archives and poetry written to mark the occasion.

The service will start at 10.30am and is expected to last for approximately 30 minutes.

Buildings in the borough, including the art museum and town hall, will be lit up red on Friday to mark the anniversary.

Bury Council said that working with the City of Trees they will be planting a memorial tree by the Commonwealth war graves in Bury Cemetery from 11.45am, which will incorporate the national silence at noon.

All are welcome to attend with the meeting point at the main entrance gates on St. Peter’s Road.

The Fusiliers museum will be holding a WWII exhibition including a focus on personal stories of those involved in the Chindits campaign.

The events will includes two films, one of which commissioned and produced by Museum Development North.

There will be a family fun day and VJ themed craft activities and object handling on Friday, August 15 from 10am-4pm

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