Valour of Belfast VC recipient marked at VJ Day 80th anniversary in city
A memorial to him stands in the grounds of Belfast City Hall.
It was the scene of a poignant wreath-laying ceremony on Friday to mark 80 years since Victory over Japan Day.
Lord Mayor of Belfast Tracy Kelly placed the wreath at the foot of the memorial, before the Last Post was played by bugler Louise Bell from the First Old Boys' Silver Band.
Those in attendance bowed their heads for a two-minute silence.
The wreath-laying came after a reflective event inside City Hall that included historical discussions about the conflict in the Far East and music from the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra.
One of those gathered at the memorial on Friday was Norman Leslie, 84, from Bangor, Co Down.
Mr Leslie, who served as a submariner in the Royal Navy during the Cold War, said he felt it was important to honour the memory of James Magennis.
He said the event acted as a 'timely reminder' to younger generations.
'To me it was just to let all the young ones know that there was stuff happening that probably their father or grandfather did during the war, and to let them know what was happening, because some maybe just don't know anything whatsoever about what happened,' he said.
Ms Kelly said it was a special occasion.
'It is important to keep on doing these things because it's something we should never forget, and especially the younger generation today, hopefully they will never go through what people in those days went through,' she said.
'But it's important to have a service of reflection, a service of remembrance.
'And to me, it's something that if you have people who are going to fight in a war, who are going to sacrifice and lose their life, and we don't know where some of those bodies went, there's no graves for quite a few people, to remember that and reflect on that, especially for the younger generation today, is very, very important.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Powys County Times
8 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Remembering VJ Day and the Powys hero who returned home
Today marks the 80th Anniversary of VJ Day, when Japan surrendered and the Second World War ended in the Far East. While VE Day marked the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945 many thousands of Armed Forces personnel were still involved in bitter fighting in the Far East. Today is also a poigniant day for one Powys family. Chrissy Maddy shared the amazing story of her father Lawrie Price who lived in Hay on Wye following the end of the war. Mr Price had to lie about his age to get enlisted in the Oxe and Bucks Light Infantry and would train in Oxford, Northern Ireland and Scotland before boarding a ship to South Africa. From there he was sent to India and flown into Burma. They landed in the middle of the jungle where he joined the Chindits, a special force under the command of General Wingate. They had a long march from the crossings of the Irrawaddy river in Burma - now Myanmar - and completed a 600 mile trek over three months which saw the soldiers navigate narrow valleys and mountain sides. Daughter Chrissy said: "Dad witnessed many harrowing scenes and the loss of fellow recruits played heavily on his mind for the rest of his life. "Few of us can imagine the hardship those brave soldiers endured. "Trekking like mules carrying half their body weight in a backpack across mosquito infested rivers, through steamy dense jungle terrain with scant water, little food, high humidity, temperatures of 110-112F, monsoons and always the threat of the Japanese. "Life here was no paradise and conditions were extremely tough." The Chindits, named after a Burmese mythical animnal, endured some of the worst conditions of the War. They suffered terrible casualties from savage hand-to-hand combat as well as sickness and slow starvation. In the first expedition a third of the men were lost and 600 of the survivors were too ill to ever fight again. Malaria, Dysentery and Tuphus were rife and Mr Price suffered with all three of these diseases as he plunged from a sturdy 12 stole to a skeletal seven sone. "Dad was desperately ill and taken by raft across a lake to a hospital in Assa," said Chrissy. "There were many sick and wounded men on this raft and many were thrown overboard as one by one they died. "By the time they got to Assam my Dad was the only survivor. "He recovered slowly in hospital for three months were the nurses taught him embroidery and after convalescing he was able to join his Battalion in Poona." However, fate intervened and changed the course of Mr Price's life. When the day finally came to leave hospital and join his Battalion there wasn't room for him onboard. The next day he learned that the boat had sunk and there were no survivors. Chrissy said: "Dad always believed that there was someone with him all the time looking after him and that he was meant to survive. "He was brought up in a religious family and like the rest of our family had a strong faith which helped him enormously. My Dad was a survivor one of the lucky ones." After the end of the war, Mr Price returned home to Hay on Wye on the Powys border and married his sweetheart Peggy and together they raised seven children. Mr Price re-joined Hay St Mary's Football Club having been a keen football player in his younger years and even declined a trial at Liverpool Football Club. Chrissy said: "My Dad treasured each day and lived it to the full, his love of nature, the River Wye, his family and life's simple pleasures that cost nothing were what was important to him . "Dad never talked about his time in Burma and only received his medals when my sister wrote to the British Legion when he was in his eighties and was dying of Bowel Cancer, so he did get to see his medals before he died."
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside remote US island with just 77 residents where you can WALK to Russia
A small island community in Alaska with just 77 residents is closer to Russia than the US mainland and when temperatures plunge the ice is so thick you can walk to Russia. Little Diomede, a territory that the US bought in 1867, lies just 2.4 miles from Big Diomede, their Russian neighbors, in the Bering Strait. While Big Diomede is a Russian military outpost, Little Diomede is home to 77 local Alaskans, known as Inupiat natives. Dividing them is the International Date Line, meaning if you left Little Diomede at 9am on a Monday and crossed to its neighbor, you would arrive on Sunday. The Diomedes were both inhabited by Indigenous peoples, and previously described themselves as one community across two islands. But at the start of the Cold War in 1948, Big Diomede's residents were scattered across Siberia and both nations sealed the border, now known as the Ice Curtain. 'Families were suddenly divided across the Bering Strait,' author Charles Wohlforth told the BBC. 'These connections were broken and not reconnected for 40 years,' he added, referring to the 1988 Friendship Flight which reunited families in Russia and Alaska. After a brief 25 year window of friendliness, however, the two islands now keep a watchful eye on each other after Putin came to power in the early 2000s and discouraged Russian interaction with the West. The Diomedes are positioned so close together that when the water freezes in the winter they are only a short 30 minute walk away, but no one does, as it is illegal to travel between the islands. Threats of flares, rifles and attack dogs sit waiting for anyone who tries to cross onto Big Diomede without the correct documentation. 'We watch them, they watch us,' Edward Soolook, a 58-year-old local, told The Economist. Through his binoculars looking across, Soolook can see the Russian soldiers, ships and helicopters as well as an observation hut. 'Keep watch, that's the mission. We're the eyes and ears for the nation,' Soolook, a veteran from the war in Iraq, added. But life for Soolook and the locals is a bleak reality. In the depths of winter, the islanders only see four hours of daylight and sub-zero temperatures. Access to the internet or phone signal only lasts a few hours a day. And the small island, with around 30 buildings in total, is struggling to survive as climate change takes its toll on their way of life. For generations, the island has hunted seals or walruses to eat. Just 20 years ago, a five-man hunting crew would have secured hundreds of each before winter struck. Local Otto Soolook, 53, told the outlet: 'Something's wrong with this place. It is possessed. We don't get walrus and seals like we used to. That is climate change. It all starts right here, it feel like.' He said this year they managed to hunt just five seals and two walruses. 'That's nothing. That is just a snack,' Otto added. To survive, the islanders rely on a weekly delivery of food from the mainland which arrives by helicopter, if the weather allows. Yet the pickings are limited, as the shipment only brings in canned goods or overly-processed foods to survive the test of time from Alaska's largest western town, Nome. A plane previously delivered the islanders food and supplies by landing on the thick frozen ice during winter, but it no longer arrives following the effects of climate change. 'The ice can't stay frozen, the current moves it, the wind blows it,' Kevin Ozenna, a father of two, told the outlet. 'I used to walk miles to the open ocean to hunt, but now I can't. The ice is just too thin.' Little Diomede is struggling to survive as their isolation from the outside world means that their culture is ever more important, but fears are growing that too is being lost. Local Frances Ozenna told the BBC: 'We know we have relatives over there. The older generations are dying out, and the thing is, we know nothing about each other. 'We are losing our language. We speak English now, and they speak Russian. It's not our fault. It's not their fault. But it's just terrible.' Josef Burwell, a pharmacist from the mainland, told the Economist: 'Diomede is unsustainable. 'It is not only climate change, but also because so many of these 'hunters' are not hunting because they are ordering on Amazon or they are playing video games on their computer. 'The water is undrinkable. The kids, when they turn 18 and graduate, most of them leave.' But the bleak lifestyle and isolation, as well as leadership issues on the self-governed island, have caused whispers of rising cases of alcoholism and domestic abuse. The island has been officially dry since 1974, but booze is often found to be smuggled onto Little Diomede and some locals even moved from the island in search of closer alcohol. Edward Soolook told The Economist that he drank every time he went to Nome, and said: 'My grandpa, my dad, my brother, my sister, my uncle, they are all alcoholics. 'It is scary. I don't get help. I'll seek it, but what good is it going to do? I am just going to go right back to doing it again, because my faith is not strong. You to have to have strong faith to stop.' Residents feel their faith slipping evermore as their elders, who often took on leadership roles, are dying. The elders, for generations, bestowed advice onto the community and reminded them of their culture and traditions but, as they die, many feel that the island is lacking in social harmony. Some locals also told the outlet that newer leaders were less trust-worthy and governing less effectively. Its school equally plays a large role in the unease that the locals feel regarding the lifespan of their community. Run by two young teachers, one from the Midwest and the other from the Philippines, the only school on the island is host to 21 students. Should it have less than 12 students enrolled, the school would close, and fears loom that its closure would be the death of the island.
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Cwmbran WW2 veteran remembers VJ Day 80 years on
105-year-old Owen Filer was just 20 when he was called up to serve in the Second World War. In 1944, he sailed to India and was in Bombay (now Mumbai) when news broke that the war had ended. Today he was among 30 veterans of VJ Day who attended our special commemorative event at the National Memorial Arboretum, marking the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day 105-year-old veteran Owen Filer at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire (Image: BBC) Speaking at the service Owen read aloud a powerful quote from the Kohima Epitaph, often associated with remembrance for those who died in war. He said: 'When you go home tell them of us and for your tomorrows, we give our today.' Speaking about VJ Day in a video posted online by the Royal British Legion earlier, Owen reflected on his time in the Welsh Fusiliers and Royal Military Police. He said: 'In 1944 I sailed from Liverpool at 6 o'clock in the morning. They told us on arrival in India that our convoy was the second biggest convoy about to leave the UK. 'That made everybody think what's it all about navy, army and air force. You couldn't see the Mediterranean for ships.' Owen Filer a 105-year-old veteran who fought in the second world war (Image: RBL) Owen is adamant that we must not forget the sacrifices made during this time. He said: 'We absolutely cannot forget what took place. We were just happy it was over. 'I lost two very good friends in the Burma campaign left in the jungle. Sad very, very, sad. God bless them all all of them. 'When I found out the war was over on VJ Day I didn't celebrate it. At least we know now we won't be going to Japan.' Japan's surrender came after the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, (most of whom being civilians) and remains the only uses of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. Owen Filer in his military police uniform during the second world war (Image: RBL) On this landmark anniversary a range of commemorative events are taking place around Newport and Gwent. Today, a concert marking the 80th anniversary of VJ Day will take place at Newport Market from 6.30pm to 8pm. This free event will be hosted by west end performer, Anthony Stuart-Lloyd and will feature music from the City of Newport Male Choir and sea shanty group Bois Y Bryn.
