Victory over Japan: 80th Anniversary

Julie Minns Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Ms Julie Minns (Carlisle) (Lab)]

It is my privilege to join colleagues across the House in marking the 80th anniversary of victory over Japan. It is a moment to honour the bravery, sacrifice and enduring legacy of those from our country and allies around the world who contributed in the Pacific theatre of the second world war. I have a direct personal connection to the Pacific theatre: my uncle, Jack Minns, served as a crewman aboard the plane of the Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia, Lord Mountbatten. However, it is of Carlisle’s own Border Regiment that I wish to speak.

The regiment served its country with distinction during the second world war and played a vital role in the allied victory over Japan. The 2nd, 4th and 9th Battalions of the Border Regiment formed part of the elite Chindit columns operating behind Japanese lines in Burma. The columns were hyper-mobile, self-sufficient units engaged in daring long-range jungle warfare.

In Imphal in east India, troops from the 2nd and 9th Battalions of the Border Regiment joined forces with Indian and East African divisions to resist the Japanese advance. This defeat of the Japanese forces prevented a wider Japanese invasion of the Indian mainland and is widely seen as a turning point in the campaign. The 9th Battalion of the Border Regiment went on to spearhead the capture of Meiktila in March 1945. This decisive blow led to the fall of Mandalay and the liberation of Rangoon, and by May the Japanese had all but abandoned Burma. Amidst this are remarkable stories of bravery from individual members of the Border Regiment, including Private Joseph Arnold, a stretcher bearer who single-handedly carried back two wounded soldiers when others were unable to help.

In May it was my privilege to attend the “Turning of the leaves” ceremony at the regimental chapel of the Border Regiment in Carlisle cathedral, and to have the opportunity to pay my tribute to the courage, sacrifice and enduring legacy of our former local regiment. Last week I held a Westminster Hall debate on the incredible contributions of those who served in the RAF unarmed photographic reconnaissance unit. Of the four local men who served in this unit, one was Sergeant Charles Ross. While we know that he served in the far east, we do not know whether he lived beyond VJ Day—he remains missing in action.

I wish to place on the record my thanks to those men from Carlisle and north Cumbria who fought through floods, jungles and monsoons in Burma and India. Their tenacity helped stall and eventually defeat Japanese forces, and their perseverance and sacrifice will always be remembered.