VJ Beacon is Lit in Kings Langley

Category : Events

Air Vice-Marshal Nick Kurth CBE DL represented the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire at Kings Langley to light a commemorative beacon to acknowledge VJ Day and the cessation of WW2. Additionally, Luther Blissett OBE DL was also in attendance representing Forces United. Both individuals highlighted in their speeches the need to acknowledge the significant number of British and Commonwealth casualties in the Far East conflict and that their commitment and sacrifice will never be forgotten. The message from His Majesty King Charles’s speech was echoed at the event.

“They gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected and how victory was made possible by close collaboration between nations across vast distances, faiths and cultural divides. An example that 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”

To conclude the proceedings, Luther read the Kohima epitaph.

Other noted guests in attendance were:

(Christine Driscoll, President RBL Abbots Langley), whose brother did not return and who they discovered is buried in Singapore.

A veteran “sniper” who had been in Burma and who had brought his photos of his experience in the jungle – including a huge snake they had captured.