FR. NEIL’S TOPIC – MAIDENHEAD ADVERTISER 23rd JULY 2015
The War is over!
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. For those on the home front, the greatest impact was that the peril of German air raids was over, so it is natural to think of VE Day on 8th May as being the important moment. However, Maidonians were still at war in the Far East, either as combatants or as prisoners of war. The world war ended on 15th August, Victory over Japan (VJ) Day. The Maidenhead branch of the Royal British Legion will be marking this significant moment with a special service on Saturday, 15th August at 11 a.m. at All Saints’ Church, Boyne Hill.
On VJ Day 1945, The King broadcast a speech to the Empire, which included these words: “The war is over. Japan has surrendered, so let us join in thanking Almighty God that war has ended throughout the world, and that in every country men may now turn their industry, skill, and science to repairing its frightful devastation and to building prosperity and happiness.” Throughout the war, His Majesty had called the nation to prayer at times of acute emergency, and to thanksgiving, never forgetting reliance on God. As The King said to Parliament that same day, “In this hour of deliverance, it is fitting that we should give humble and solemn thanks to God by whose grace we have been brought to final victory.” I invite you to join us at All Saints’ in that act of thanksgiving.
Fr Neil Bryson, All Saints’ Church, Boyne Hill