Armed Forces Memorial being prepared for VJ Day

A service of remembrance is due to take place at the Armed Forces Memorial on 15 August

Part of the National Memorial Arboretum will temporarily close to the public from next Friday, to allow preparations for the 80th anniversary of VJ Day.

The Armed Forces Memorial will be a centrepiece for the commemorations on 15 August and it will remain closed to the public until 17 August.

The rest of the arboretum, near Alrewas in Staffordshire, will stay open.

Throughout the closure, visitors will be able to lay wreaths and tributes in a temporary location near the Armed Forces Memorial and they will be placed on the memorial by arboretum staff at the end of each day.

The arboretum said it expected thousands of visitors at the commemoration event and the temporary closure was to allow the safe erection and dismantling of infrastructure for the event.

The closure is due to begin at 09:00 on 8 August.

Mark Ellis, National Memorial Arboretum lead, said "Visitors can continue to explore the rest of our 150-acre estate, learn about the inspirational stories behind many of our other more than 420 memorials, participate in our fantastic Wondrous Trees summer activity programme, and our daily activities including land train, buggy tours, and our VJ Day guided walks will all be available."

The service on 15 August will be attended by Second World War veterans, VJ association members, senior politicians and military personnel

They will pay tribute to the British, Commonwealth and Allied veterans who served in the Far East theatres of war and the Pacific and Indian Ocean territories.

The service will feature 400 members of the Armed Forces and include music from military bands, plus flypasts from the Red Arrows and The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The service will be open only to those with invitations, but there will be a live screening at the nearby Naval Review.