Latest news with #80thAnniversary
Zawya
12 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Emirates Post issues commemorative stamp marking Arab League's 80th anniversary
Dubai: Emirates Post has unveiled a special commemorative stamp collection titled 'League of Arab States: 80th Anniversary,' celebrating the League's historic journey since its founding in 1945. This exclusive release pays tribute to the League's enduring commitment to fostering regional cooperation and amplifying the collective Arab presence on the global stage. The launch comes in response to recommendations from the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and is part of broader regional celebrations commemorating this significant milestone. Developed in collaboration with the League's General Secretariat, the stamp design symbolises Arab unity and highlights the League's longstanding institutional legacy. It reflects the core values of independence, integration, and solidarity that define the framework of joint Arab action. Inspired by the League's visual identity, the design illustrates 80 years of diplomatic engagement, institutional development, and cultural and economic advancement, highlighting the League's role in shaping the future, safeguarding Arab identity, and promoting stability and prosperity throughout the region. This release continues Emirates Post's tradition of celebrating significant national and regional milestones, underscoring its dedication to advancing Arab cooperation initiatives within the postal sector and broader areas of integration and community service. The stamps are available at Emirates Post branches and online at For further information, please contact: Orient Planet Group (OPG) Email: media@ Website:
CTV News
3 days ago
- General
- CTV News
As memories fade, Canadians mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War
Chief of the Defence Staff Jennie Carignan, centre, salutes after placing a wreath during a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Pacific and the end of the Second World War at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA — Relatives of war veterans gathered at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Friday to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender and the official end of the Second World War. Sweat poured down the faces of those assembled in the August midday heat as the Canadian Armed Forces bugler performed the Last Post. Michael Babin, president of the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association, said there are no living veterans remaining out of the nearly 2,000 Canadians who took part in the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. He said the last known veteran from that fight died a little more than a year and a half ago, at the age of 106. Babin is one of many with direct ties to the war who expressed the concern on Friday that the history of that battle — and the stories of the many Canadians who fought and died there — are not being passed on to younger generations. 'There are no veterans left any more to tell their stories, so it's up to us — the children and the grandchildren — to tell their stories and to remember them,' he said. 'Most Canadians don't (know about this battle) because most of the action took place in Europe and that's what Canadians heard about and that's what's taught in the schools. But to send 2,000 men and two nursing sisters to Hong Kong was significant, and all of them were volunteers.' Babin said that of the 1,975 Canadian volunteers who went to Hong Kong, only 1,418 returned — 290 were killed in the battle and others later died as prisoners. His own father, Alfred Babin, was released from nearly four years of captivity as a prisoner of war on Aug. 15, 1941. Mitzi Ross said her father, Lance Ross, was hit in the neck by shrapnel but survived the battle. He was captured and sent to Japan to work in a mine as a prisoner of war. 'All of the men that were in these camps had to work in mines or shipyards, things like that. It was really a horrible, horrible experience. When they came back they all had PTSD but nobody knew what it was at the time,' she said. 'They all had hard lives after their return (to Canada).' Francois Vigneault, a retired captain who served 36 years with the Royal Canadian Air Force, said his father's cousin, Laureat Vigneault, was killed in the Battle of Hong Kong. He said his body was never recovered and, thanks to a bureaucratic error, it took his family years to learn that he had been killed in action. 'For me, it's a very important battle (but) it's very unknown for Canadians,' he said. Anne Okaley said her father became a PoW after the Hong Kong conflict; she's still researching what his exact role was in the battle. Okaley said she worries about people forgetting these stories as time passes — and the risk of grim history repeating itself. 'I just hope the memory carries on,' she said. 'We're not going to be here forever to carry it on, so I'm really grateful for my nephew who is going to carry the torch forward.' By Kyle Duggan.
BBC News
21-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
WW2 anniversary marked by poppy display at Bognor Regis pier
Organisers of an event held in Bognor Regis to mark the 80th anniversary of the ending of World War Two have said they have been "overwhelmed" by the public's response.A programme of events are taking place in the town on Saturday, including a parade from the Cenotaph to the pier and a presentation of veteran Boote-Cook, the chair of Armed Forces Day in Bognor Regis, said the 80th anniversary made the day "particularly poignant"."We hold Armed Forces Day every year to celebrate service men and women from the past, present and future. We need our service men and women and always will," she said. Ahead of this year's event, Ms Boote-Cook put the call out for 6,000 poppies to go on display at the said she was taken by surprise when 13,000 handknitted and crocheted poppies were sent in."I was only expecting 4,000 poppies. I had to hire a garage to contain them," Ms Boote-Cook 260 poppies, one to honour each person from the town who died in WW2, also feature in the Boote-Cook said that, weather permitting, the display was remain up until 30 programme of events get under way at 10:00 BST.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Alderney set to mark liberation for first time
Alderney is set to mark the date of the island's liberation from German troops for the first time on the 80th island annually celebrates Homecoming on 15 December - seven months on from the island's liberation when the first families who were evacuated in 1940 arrived the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands, were occupied by the Germans in 1940 as part of their advance across Europe. The liberation of Alderney came on 16 May 1945 - one week after Guernsey and Jersey.A series of events is planned later to mark the 80th anniversary. A service of commemoration is due to take place at the RNLI station at Braye Harbour at 11:00 will be followed by a parade and a ceremony at the Island Hall at 14:00. Jurat Colin Partridge, Alderney-based historian and founder of The Henry Euler Memorial Trust, believed now was the time to "look at liberation with different eyes".By the time of the Germans invaded Alderney, most of the island's 1,500 residents had been evacuated - but not Partridge said there were 16 civilians left in the island by July 1944."They don't think of it as liberation today simply because there were only a handful of islanders here," he said."They were scattered the length and breadth of the British Isles in their exile."Certainly they wouldn't have been able to come together on that day themselves, and therefore, when they returned seven months later, Homecoming meant a lot more to them." Alfred Gaudion was on the first boat back to the island in December 1940 with his parents and two brothers and he believed celebrating the liberation of Alderney was "long overdue".He said: "It's celebrated on the other islands so why not Alderney?""People say there was nobody here but the island was liberated. "My wife's grandfather stayed behind to look after his cattle." Barbara Benfield, who founded Age Concern Alderney, said Liberation Day should also be commemorated as well as Homecoming in December."It's odd that all those years ago when Guernsey and Jersey decided on a bank holiday for Liberation Day, Alderney didn't decide the same and have Liberation Day on 16 May for the signing of the treaty," she said."If the homecomers hadn't come home, Alderney would be non-existent so we've got a lot to be grateful for and to remember them and the hard work and effort they put into when they came home."It must have been devastating for all of them." Lt Gen Richard Cripwell, Lieutenant-Governor of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, said liberation was a "vital date in the history of these islands"."The trauma that was suffered by the island and its people and especially those who were held captive here is something that deserves to be remembered," he said.
The Independent
10-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Anne becomes first member of royal family to visit Little Sark
The Princess Royal became the first member of the royal family ever to visit Little Sark on Saturday. Anne, accompanied on the trip by her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, visited Sark and Little Sark, part of the Channel Islands. On Little Sark, the princess met residents before travelling by horse and carriage to La Coupee, a narrow walkway connecting Big Sark and Little Sark. Anne was told about the history of La Coupee and recent erosion and repair work while walking along the path. The princess then visited la Societe Sercquaise (the Sark Society), an organisation founded in 1975 to study, preserve and enhance Sark's natural environment and cultural heritage, where she met volunteers and viewed archaeological artefacts. Anne later attended the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Sark celebrations at the Avenue, where she met representatives from the liberated generation before being invited to say a few words. After planting a silver birch tree to commemorate the 80th anniversary, the princess visited an exhibition on the Second World War at Old Island Hall. The Second World War exhibition focuses on the island's experiences during the German occupation and life up to the present day. Each display covers a different aspect of the occupation years, including a section on 'The Deportees'; residents of Sark who were deported from Sark by the German occupying forces like Nellie Le Feuvre, who Anne met at the exhibition. Mrs Le Feuvre was deported to Biberach Camp in Germany. Finally, the princess visited the Sark Observatory, where she met volunteers and viewed the sun through a solar telescope.
