County marks 80th anniversary of VJ Day

Wreath laying ceremonies are being held at memorials across the county

Events are being held across Dorset as the county marks the 80th anniversary of VJ Day and the end of World War Two.

A service will be held at 10:50 BST at the memorial outside County Hall, Dorchester, and wreaths will be laid.

Poole's Royal British Legion branch will be holding a short service and wreath laying at the Burma Star Memorial in Poole Park at 10:45.

Beacons, barbecues, bands and a torchlight procession are among the events planned.

VJ Day - or Victory over Japan Day - marks the end of World War Two when Japan surrendered to the Allied forces on 15 August 1945.

Ceremonies are taking place at war memorials and churches across the county and members of the public are encouraged to participate in a national two-minute silence at noon.

BCP Council chairman Lesley Dedman will host a short ceremony in the Dolphin Shopping Centre in Poole at 11:50.

The Dorchester service will be led by Rev John Yarrien, superintendent minister for Dorset South and West Methodist Circuit, with former Royal British Legion county chairman Grant Parrott as master of ceremonies.

Bovington Military Wives Choir will perform hymns and a medley of Vera Lynn songs, with the ceremony live-streamed on the Dorset Council Facebook page.

A service will be held at the memorial area at County Hall in Dorchester

Councillor Stella Jones said: "We are honoured to welcome a host of guests, including family members of Burma veterans, some of whom will be travelling from other parts of the country to be a part of this poignant service."

County Hall will also be lit up red, white and blue each evening from Friday until Monday.

Sherborne's Royal British Legion branch will be among those joining the two-minute silence during a wreath-laying service at the town's war memorial.

The service will be followed by entertainment and a barbecue at Pageant Gardens from 15:00 to fundraise for a Remembrance bench and two Tommy statues for the memorial.

In Lyme Regis, the town band, Royal British Legion branch and the town council are hosting a drumhead ceremony at the Marine Parade Shelters from 18:30.

In Verwood, a red lantern parade will start at St Michael's Church at 20:45 and end at the war memorial on Ferrett Green.

Sturminster Town Council said its planned beacon lighting ceremony at Railway Gardens at 20:30 had been revised due to the dry weather.

It said: "To avoid the risk of fire, an alternative form of beacon lighting will be used."