Special service at the cathedral

Peterborough Cathedral is to hold a special online service to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VJ Day.

The Dean of Peterborough, the Very Revd Chris Dalliston, will lead the online service on the 75th anniversary of VJ Day on Saturday, August 15.

The service will be livestreamed at 3pm on the Facebook pages of both Peterborough Cathedral and Peterborough City Council. It will also be available on You Tube. During the service the Mayor of Peterborough, Cllr Gul Nawaz, will lay a wreath in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the Far East during the Second World War. Prayers will be led by the Revd Canon Ian Black, Vicar of Peterborough.

These will be based on those used in a VJ Day service held in Westminster Abbey in 1945. During the service the Last Post will be played and Major Anthony Elsey will read the Exhortation and the Kohima Epitaph. Members of the Royal British Legion will raise and lower the ensign during the service. Mr Dalliston said: “This is an opportunity to come together to remember those who served in the Far East, even after the 1945 victory in Europe had been won. Many of them gave their lives there in the cause of freedom and justice. We will also pray for peace and the healing of the world.”

The service will be available on these links: Peterborough Cathedral Facebook page; Peterborough Cathedral YouTube channel

LOOKING BACK: Thousands of Peterborough residents gathered in Cathedral Square (at the time it was known as Market Place) in August 1945 for a special ceremony to commemorate VJ Day. Civic dignitaries gathered in front of the Guildhall and addressed the crowd.