While the war in Europe Wended in May 1945 it went on in the Far East.

The Japanese finally surrendered on 14 August, 1945, following the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, killing 129,000 troops and civilians.

Many Thurrock people heard the late night radio announcement by the BBC, many others awoke in the morning to find ‘World Peace’ had been achieved and that Wednesday August 15, 1945 was to be celebrated as VJ (Victory over Japan) Day.

King George VI announced that “the surrender of Japan has brought to an end six years of warfare which has caused untold loss and misery to the world”.

Many Thurrock servicemen had participated, around 300,000 soldiers in the Far East became POWs; only 200,000 would survive to see VJ Day and many of those suffered physical and mental torture while prisoners. Both the Sikh and Ghurkha Regiments were in the front line during this time and many of their families now live in Thurrock.

However Thurrock celebrated with some 2,000 people assembled outside Grays Police Station at midnight, ships sirens “gave vent to their feelings by blasting every ounce of power they could muster from their sirens”, car hooters were full on as they travelled around Grays alongside dustbin lids, saucepans and frying pans being banged.

Soon a piano arrived in the High Street and singing and dancing prevailed. Interestingly a Gazette reporter was in the thick of the Grays celebrations and reported “it was a night of revelry which we shall long remember”.

The following day similar crowds arrived in Grays; the Conservative Club festooned their building with ‘fairy lights’, the State and Ritz cinemas were ‘illuminated’ but Grays Parish Church like many others held a solemn service of remembrance conducted by Rev. A. D. King.

Tilbury celebrated likewise, one man managing to get on top of the Peace Clock, where he conducted singing.

Bunting adorned many houses. A wedding took place in Tilbury, the first during ‘World Peace’. Mr.

Joseph Taylor of Huddersfield married Miss Constance May Pocock of Feenan Highway, Tilbury. The day was declared a public holiday and many housewives’s went to the shops to buy extra provisions.

This year The Burma Star association and Far East Veterans Association invite everybody to attend a Service of Remembrance to mark the 70th anniversary of VJ Day, to be held at the Rose Garden, Orsett village on Saturday, August 15 at 11am.