10
Aug
Guide to VJ Day commemorations in Harrogate, Ripon and Knaresborough
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On August 15, 1945, three months after the Nazi surrender in Europe, Japan surrendered to the allied forces, marking the end of the Second World War.
With VJ Day fast approaching, the Stray Ferret has compiled a list of events occurring in the Harrogate district to mark the occasion.
Harrogate
Valley Gardens - Saturday, August 16 at 10.55am
A short, formal service of remembrance will be held, followed by a picnic in the park with 1940s entertainment. The picnic will begin at 11.30am.
Ripon
The third in a sequence of World War Two 80th anniversary commemoration and celebration events will take place in Ripon on August 15, when the city remembers VJ Day.
Ripon City Council is staging a free to attend concert on Market Square between 6pm and 9.30pm, featuring tribute act Bon Adams and a rock choir.
In common with the VE Day celebrations in May and the D-Day events in June 2024, the role the city-based Royal Engineers played throughout the 1939-1945 conflict will be highlighted.
Their reach extended to theatres of war across the globe, including the Far East, where bridge technology developed and tested in Ripon enabled allied troops to cope with jungle conditions, including flooding from monsoons and difficult access over mountain roads, whioh made bridging challenging.
In October 1942 a new Bailey suspension bridge was designed by Mr O. Bundy, under the supervision of Donald Bailey. It was tested in Ripon across various parts of Laver Banks.
One of the VJ Day displays created by Ripon Community Poppy Project.
D-Day and VE Day
Last year, the Royal Engineers' crucial role in the Normandy landings of June 1944 and subsequent liberation of Europe, was highlighted at commemoration and celebration events held across the city to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
On May 8 this year, the sappers were again in the spotlight when Ripon celebrated the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
At both anniversaries a knitted life-size replica Churchill AVRE 'bunker buster' tank created by Ripon Community Poppy Project and Ripon Men's Shed, was on display, highlighting the long-established link between the city and soldiers based at Claro Barracks.
Ripon's famous knitted tank featured in D-Day and VE Day events in the city.
A thread that has run through the anniversary celebrations can be seen in the skilled handiwork of Ripon Community Poppy Project, which earned the King's Award for Voluntary Service.
In addition to the mammoth task of knitting the tank, the goup produced hundreds of colourful displays, including some for VJ Day that remember, with a single poppy, those who lost their lives while serving in the Far East.
Knaresborough
Heritage Centre
The Heritage Centre have a WW2 exhibition which is open on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays 10am-4pm.
Knaresborough House
Knaresborough Town Council will put up the silhouette tribute, that Craft and Social made for VE Day 80th anniversary, outside Knaresborough House on Monday for VJ week. Knaresborough Town Council said it "hopes many residents and visitors will be able to enjoy this brilliant installation over the next week as the silhouette stands outside Knaresborough House".
War memorial, Knaresborough Castle
The Knaresborough Division of the Royal British Legion will be holding a small, informal ceremony at the war memorial at the castle at 11pm.
Market Place - Wednesday, August 13
The Knaresborough Division will also be hosting a market stall with commemorative goods.
Knaresborough Working Men's Club - Thursday, August 14
The Knaresborough Division will be hosting a FEVA quiz at Knaresborough Working Men's Club. The library are also hosting coffee mornings themed on the work of the RBL.
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