Veterans gather to remember VJ Day

Young and old gathered with war veterans to mark the 65th anniversary of VJ Day at an historic Black Country venue.

The 1940s were brought to life at Bilston Town Hall as visitors were taken back to wartime Britain. One highlight of the entertainment was a performance by actors.

Gazebo Theatre took to the stage to recreate the stories of veterans, including Harry Burgess, 92, of Fordhouses, who was a guest at the event.

An organist was also on hand to entertain the crowds as well as singer Karli Ose, who performed wartime songs. Those who went along even dressed up in 1940s style clothing to mark the occasion.

The celebration was the latest in a series of events organised from the venue to mark Victory in Japan.

Gazebo Theatre, which rehearses at Bilston Town Hall, has spent weeks working with school children to increase their knowledge of the Second World War, while people who lived through it have been sharing their wartime memories.

Among those who went into schools to speak to children was Burma veteran Mr Burgess who went to war when he was 24 and stayed until the end of the war.

He served with both the Second Battalion Royal Berkshire Regiment and the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. He said: "I went to four different schools and never told the same story."

Pamela Cole-Hudson, of Gazebo Theatre, added: "It is really important these memories are captured. I also think it is important to commemorate VJ Day as so many from Wolverhampton served in Burma."

Around 10 members of the Wolves Elders Group based at Molineux also went along including Hilda Rowley and Connie Pickering, both 82, and 77-year-old Iris White. Hilda's husband Kenneth received the Burma Star, and she said "It has been a lovely event."