Far Eastern Prisoners of War memorial.

National Arboretum Alrewas Staffordshire

VE day on May 8th 1945 marked the end of the War as far as Great Britain was concerned.

But thousands of miles away on the other side of the world, a war was still being fought, a forgotten war. A war against a most brutal and uncivilised nation, that nation was Japan.

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It had started with invasion of Malaya and Singapore and the attack on Pearl Harbour and the American fleet.

With this the nations of America, Russia, Great Britain, and its Empire were pitted against the Axis powers of Germany, Italy and Japan.

As the war raged on, Italy and Germany were defeated, only Japan remained.

At home in Britain and America people were being told,

“We were fighting the Nazi’s, weren’t we. We have won, now it’s all over you can get back to normality and living your lives, you’re free"

They thought now is the time to get down to clearing up after five long years fighting the Nazi regime that had devastated Europe and Great Britain

Churchill appeared on the balcony cheered by thousands of grateful British subjects, chanting, “we won the war, its over we are free” but the war had not finished and some of them were not free.