Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary

John Slinger Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, which gives me an opportunity to inform the House that there are resources available for our schools. “Our Shared Story” is one of those resources, which will enable people to find out more and tell the story in a way that is age-appropriate for all our young people. I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that matter in the Chamber today.

Eighty years may have passed since VJ Day, but that can never diminish the triumphs of that extraordinary world war two generation—the greatest generation—or the unimaginable sacrifices they made to secure a legacy of peace and freedom. When we commemorate the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, we will particularly remember the British and Commonwealth heroes who fought across the Indo-Pacific. We will remember those who fell on the battlefield; those who endured some of the most hostile combat environments in the history of warfare; those who were sunk on ships in oceans far from home; those who suffered terribly in prison camps, or on forced labour construction projects; those who continued fighting in the far east for another three months after VE Day; and those few surviving veterans of the campaign who are still with us today. We are eternally grateful to every one of them. Let the united message from this House go out: “Thank you for your service.”

Remembrance is not passive, and our duty does not end with words—it requires action. As we have heard in this debate, there will be events across the nation inviting people to take a moment out of their day to remember those who served. Just as we did for VE Day, we must do for VJ Day.

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that, although of course there was victory over Japan, the second world war was victory over fascism and over those who trample on human rights, democracy and freedom? Japan, once an enemy, is now an ally, defending the values of civilisation alongside our forces. Does he further agree that when my constituents light a beacon in Hillmorton on 15 August, it will be a beacon of hope in our troubled world, and that we owe a debt of gratitude to those whose sacrifices made that victory possible?

[Luke Pollard]

I thank my hon. Friend for that. A theme picked up by a number of colleagues, including the Chair of the Defence Committee, my hon. Friend the Member for Slough (Mr Dhesi), was that old adversaries can become good friends. When there are rising tensions and conflicts in the world, it is worth remembering, 80 years on from VE and VJ Day, that those nations that were at war with us all those decades ago now stand alongside us, with shared values and a shared outlook on the world. That is an important message to send.

In the moments left to me, I will mention a few of the speeches that we have heard today. I am particularly grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Portsmouth North (Amanda Martin). As the MP for the other shipyard, as she described Devonport in the debate, let me say how pleased I was that she mentioned the sacrifice of the Royal Navy and all those who served in our Pacific fleet. I think in particular of those brave sailors who served on HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Electra and HMS Exeter, which went down in the east Java sea. Those shipwrecks are war graves. Although we cannot see them in the same way we can see the rows of headstones in the cemeteries and the D-Day beaches, it is none the less important that we preserve them, protect them and tell the story of those who served.

I am grateful to all those who spoke about the importance of the Commonwealth forces, including my hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Adam Jogee), who spoke about his grandfather who served. Indeed, a number of Members talked about their family members who served, including the hon. Member for Meriden and Solihull East (Saqib Bhatti), my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns), and the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos), whose remark about everyday folk who get caught up in war and do extraordinary things I found exactly right in the stories that we must tell.

My hon. Friend the Member for Erewash (Adam Thompson) spoke powerfully about Donald Rose, and the hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Dr Spencer) spoke about his family member who fought in Burma. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Northfield (Laurence Turner) put Ken Tinkler on the record, and he was right to do so. The hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Cameron Thomas) spoke about the stories of evil that were prosecuted in war, and he was right to put that on the record. The hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) spoke about the important contribution of people from his constituency. My hon. Friend the Member for Blackpool North and Fleetwood (Lorraine Beavers) spoke about Harold Rhodes and the death railway, and that powerful story will be told often as we approach VJ Day itself.

I am grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Lancaster and Wyre (Cat Smith), who spoke about her grandfather, who was awarded the Burma Star. The hon. Member for Windsor (Jack Rankin), who mentioned Charles Snelling, powerfully invited not just Members of the House but all those watching to choose a name on a war memorial and find out the stories behind those names, why they matter, and why their stories continue to be told. My hon. Friend the Member for Aldershot (Alex Baker) spoke passionately not only about the Gurkhas, who I know she is proud to represent, but about Frank Mole, a prisoner of war.

It is so important in this debate that we remember all those who served in our forces, as well as the civilians who died in the conflicts, many of whom will not have names on war memorials. Equally, we must remember all those who died in Hiroshima and Nagasaki when the atomic bombs were dropped that brought the war to a close. In the moments left to me, I join the shadow Defence Secretary, who spoke so well about the debate, and echo the words of John Maxwell Edmonds in the Kohima epitaph:

“When you go home, tell them of us and say,

For your tomorrow, we gave our today.”

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan.