Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary

Ben Spencer Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)]

On 8 May 1945 at 3 pm, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a radio announcement that Germany had surrendered and the war in Europe had come to an end. In towns and cities across the nation, people gathered in their communities to remember those they had lost and, for so many, to rejoice that the war in Europe was over.

At the same time, half a world away, thousands of British, Commonwealth and allied forces were still involved in bitter fighting in Japan and the Pacific. Although part of the same war, the conflict in Asia presented different and in many cases uniquely harrowing challenges. Troops fought in jungles drenched by monsoons, on snow-covered hills and in the scorching tropical heat of remote islands. Prisoners of war faced the harshest conditions of brutality, disease and malnutrition.

Sadly, while 8 May is taught and commemorated across the country, too many remain unaware of the sacrifice and conflict in Asia, or even when VJ Day is. The Fourteenth Army, which fought in the campaign in the Pacific, is called the forgotten Army. In the face of regional and growing conflict today, as we once again face threats from powers increasingly hostile to our values and way of life, it is more important than ever that we remember them.

In the Spencer family, the Army in Burma is hardly forgotten. My grandfather was a Chindit and fought in Burma. While he resisted talking much about his experiences, it is clear from what he did say what incredible sacrifices he and his fellow Chindits made for our country. The experiences of the war lived on with him not just in memory, but in his health. He was medically evacuated back to the UK, suffering from tropical sprue and malaria and, like many others, malnourished and incredibly underweight. Back in the UK he was treated with cigarettes, which we now know is not helpful, and with tonic, which—although it was helpful—he consumed so much of that he damaged his hearing. He continued to have relapses of malaria throughout his life. He died before I was elected MP, but I am proud to stand in this House to pay tribute to him and to all who fought in Asia for our freedoms.

It is clear that, while the forgotten Army may have been forgotten, it is certainly not forgotten in this place this evening. I am grateful each and every day for the freedoms we enjoy in this country—freedoms secured because of the bravery and sacrifices made by those young men who fought and died in defence of our country and our way of life, and those who played the vital roles at home to make the war effort possible. Their sacrifice—their legacy—is our ability to have this debate this evening. We will remember them.