VE Day was not the end of World War Two…

As the excitement over the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of VE Day fades, historian and Museum Ambassador Stephen Nunn reminds us that in May 1945 the war had not finished:

"Despite the euphoria of VE Day, on 8 May 1945, the war was not yet over. Whilst the Allies had formally accepted Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender, the Pacific-Asian campaign raged on for a further three desperate months.

"During May, Japan was heavily bombed and fighting in the southern Philippines continued unabated. There were, however, decisive battles – not least Malacca Strait, and the Japanese cruiser, Haguro was sunk. Yokohama was bombed and in the June, strikes were made on Kyushu.

"Suddenly the tide was turning and there was a general state of retreat by the Japanese in central China, followed by a major defeat for them at Okinawa. The Philippines were liberated, and the homelands of Tokyo were attacked for the first time.

"The Allied leaders felt that the time was right to insist upon an unconditional surrender of Japan, but still the fighting went on. It was then that the B-29 Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, followed by a further bomb on Nagasaki. In the aftermath of the shock and following the loss of so many lives, the Japanese accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration.

"VJ Day (Victory in Japan) took place here on 15 August 1945, but in a much less celebratory mood than VE Day."

We will soon be launching our new exhibition, Feeding the Nation: Fighting Without Flying, which will explain our site’s role as a WW2 farm. It explores the wider stories of the Women’s Land Army, the Black Market – even touching on the use of child labour and the Battle of the Atlantic. More information coming soon.

Visit https://www.stowmaries.org.uk/events for more information.