VJ heroes remembered across Devon and Cornwall

Special ceremonies and minutes of silences' will be held across the county to honour the war heroes

Events to mark 80-years since VJ Day, or Victory over Japan Day, are being held across Devon and Cornwall.

The day is commemorated on 15 August each year, marking the date in 1945 when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, ending World War Two.

King Charles has honoured those whose "service and sacrifice" helped to bring an end to the war, vowing that those who fought and died in the Pacific and Far East "shall never be forgotten".

Memorials, flag raising, beacon lighting, wreath laying and bell ringing will take place across the two counties.

Jack Hughieson, from Devon, was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Hong Kong in December 1941 and survived the sinking of a cargo ship called the Lisbon Maru.

Jack's nephew Chris Hutchison said: "I think that many of us read in the media about when people lose someone and it just seems a sort of faint prick of sadness.

"But the scale on which people gave their lives, to the scale on which atrocities were committed, brings it home to you in a very real personal way."

A lifelong tradition

Dougie Marsh was captured by the Japanese after his ship, the Plymouth-based HMS Exeter, sunk.

His granddaughter Joanna Matthew said he traded his wedding ring for medicine which saved his best friend Cecil's life.

She said it was "almost pretty unbelievable because the Japanese stripped them of all their jewellery and everything when they came off ship".

Ms Matthew said the life-saving gesture had led to a lifelong tradition between the two families.

She said: "[Cecil] lived in Cornwall, he lived on a farm, and he promised my grandfather that when they got back, he promised him a goose.

"The strange thing about that is when I found out, my father gasped when I told him, and he said, 'Oh my gosh, we had a goose arrive every year at Christmas'."

'Strength and sacrifice'

Bill Box, whose father-in-law served in Burma, said today was an opportunity to recognise the emotion felt at the time.

He said: "I think it's hard for us these days to appreciate just the length of time the war was lasting and the fortitude and strength and sacrifice that was involved.

"Then the relief and joy that there must have been at the end, tinged with obviously grief and uncertainty at the same time as well for what had happened."

In Cornwall, a two-minute silence will be held at noon at the Memorial Garden in Penlee Park, Penzance, beginning at 11:50 BST.

People from the Royal British Legion will be marking the day at the Burma War Memorial at The Lugger in Portscatho to honour those who served in the Burma campaign and the Far East from 15:00 BST.

A special ceremony is being held in Exeter at the War Memorial in Northernhay Gardens, Devon, starting at 15:30 BST.

It will begin with a welcome from the Lord Mayor of Exeter, followed by a speech from the High Sheriff of Devon. Everyone is invited to attend.

Sidmouth, Teignmouth, Exeter, and Plymouth are all marking the day with flag raising, beacon lighting, laying wreathes, bell ringing and processions.