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Times
3 days ago
- General
- Times
Last VJ Day veterans tell their stories on 80th anniversary
John Harlow was not able to read his words in person. But he was able to be there, near the King, to listen to them be read. And where others at the National Memorial Arboretum service spoke of grand themes — of peace, war, humanity — he marked the 80th anniversary of VJ Day by speaking instead of a friend. On January 9, 1945, Harlow was on a submarine, laying mines in the Indian Ocean. Mark Webber was on a different submarine. The pair had trained together, become telegraphists together and debriefed over cold drinks together. That day Webber's ship sent a message confirming her mission was complete. Then the crew were never heard of again. 'It could so easily have been me,' said Harlow, 100, in words read by the actor Anton Lesser. His was, he said, the only submarine minelayer to survive. So every VJ day, he said he remembers Webber. 'War doesn't grant you the luxury of goodbyes.' Not for the last time that afternoon, the King wiped his eye. As Britain marked 80 years since the end of the Second World War, the stories of the surviving veterans — read in person where possible at the National Memorial Arboretum, or read by proxies or pre-recorded on video — were once commonplace. Once, there were thousands of Johns and thousands of Marks. Once, those who survived the Far East, who came to call it with occasional bitterness 'the forgotten war', numbered in the hundreds of thousands. They were the British sailors, like Trevor Taylor, 100, who remembered the kamikaze planes flying over his ship. They were the Commonwealth soldiers, such as Joseph Hammond, from Ghana, who told those at Friday's service how the Japanese fought 'like devils'. They were the civilian prisoners caught up in the conflict, such as Olga Henderson, 93, who spent her childhood 118 people to a hut with one toilet. 'There was quite a lot of disease, and your head was full of creepy-crawlies,' she said. 'We used to get these little baby snails and then just break the shell. And we could chew that all day and think we're eating something.' There were those who struggle still with the memory. 'There's only one thing I think about to be honest,' Bernard Francis Madden told the audience — which included the King, the Queen, Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch. 'I killed 20 Japanese. That preys on my mind.' Then there were the thousands of scared and brave men, such as Tom Jones, 103. He recalled in a pre-recorded message how, 'I saw this Japanese officer, he got his sword and he's running straight at me and I'm thinking to myself, this is my last day.' The only reason it wasn't was that a Gurkha shot the attacker. But now, they are rare. After an appeal by the Royal British Legion, only 33 veterans could make the event. One could not. Eighty years after Jones thought he had seen his last day, he finally did. On Thursday, after recording his message, he died. And there was one fewer living link to the war. So it was that in heat that might have been more worrying for the centenarians had many of them not previously endured months hacking through the jungles of Burma, the nation honoured in the words of the King, the 'courage and camaraderie displayed in humanity's darkest hour'. Three months earlier, many of the same dignitaries had met in the same place to remember VE Day. Friday's ceremony, outdoors and on the Armed Forces Memorial, was different. It was different partly because the war in the east was more global. CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/PA Ben Okri, the poet, gave a reading in honour of the Empire troops. 'It was not really their quarrel, but those who fought had heard a higher call that said it's worth dying to stop the world being turned to hell,' he said. One of those Empire troops was Yavar Abbas, 104, from the 11th Sikh Regiment. He read from his diary, in which he had written of being sniped at at 30 yards and comrades falling beside him. But before beginning, he apologised, 'for briefly going off the script to salute my brave King, who is here with his beloved Queen in spite of the fact that he is undergoing treatment for cancer.' He too, he said, had had cancer. 'I salute him for attending this occasion. By his presence here he has gone a long way to make sure that his Grandad's 14th army is never given the sobriquet of the forgotten army.' On returning to the royal box, they saluted each other and spoke for almost a minute. There was something else that marked the ceremony out. Thousands of miles away in Tokyo, Japan's prime minister became the first in over a decade to use the word 'remorse' to mark the anniversary. 'We will never ever make a mistake in choosing the path to take,' Shigeru Ishiba said. 'The remorse and lessons from that war should once again be engraved deeply in our hearts. TOLGA AKMEN/EPA It was the first time since 2012 that a Japanese premier used the word at the ceremony, which is held to mourn the 3.1 million casualties of war in Japan. A moment of silence was observed at midday, exactly 80 years after Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration in a radio broadcast. The four-and-a-half-minute address by the emperor, delivered a few days after the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and replayed from a scratchy phonograph recording, stunned the nation in 1945, when Hirohito said that 'the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage'. After the Red Arrows streamed over the royal box, and before the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flew over at a more stately pace, there was a final word from Jones — the final words, as it turned out, of his life. 'As far as war is concerned,' he said in the video, 'there's no pride and no glory. So, forget war and pick peace.'
AsiaOne
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- AsiaOne
Anton Lesser (right) cast in new Harry Potter TV series, Entertainment News
Anton Lesser has been cast in the new Harry Potter TV series. Warner Bros has confirmed the Game of Thrones actor — who portrayed Qyburn in the fantasy series — will play wandmaker and Ollivanders wand shop owner Garrick Ollivander in the new HBO series. John Hurt — who passed away in 2017 aged 77 — took on the role in the Harry Potter movies. Other new cast members include Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, and Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch. Production has started at Warner Bros Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, on HBO's Harry Potter series, which will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max. The latest casting comes after Harry Potter added nine stars to the series — which will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter books by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling — last month. Rivals actress Katherine Parkinson joined the show as Molly Weasley, and Dalgliesh star Bertie Carvel will portray Cornelius Fudge. What's more, Lox Pratt and Johnny Flynn will take on the roles of Draco Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy respectively, and Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby will portray Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout will play the main characters Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. [embed] Francesca Gardiner — showrunner and executive producer — and fellow exec producer Mark Mylod said: "After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione and Ron. "The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. "We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there." John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), and Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid) will be series regulars, and other recurring cast members include Luke Thallon (Quirinus Quirrell) and Paul Whitehouse (Argus Filch). [[nid:720257]]
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Anton Lesser has been cast in the new Harry Potter TV series
Game of Thrones actor Anton Lesser has been confirmed for the new Harry Potter TV series, in which he will portray wandmaker and Ollivanders wand shop owner Garrick Ollivander.
Perth Now
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Harry Potter TV series reveals new cast members including Game of Thrones star
Anton Lesser has been cast in the new Harry Potter TV series. Warner Bros. has confirmed the Game of Thrones actor - who portrayed Qyburn in the fantasy series - will portray wandmaker and Ollivanders wand shop owner Garrick Ollivander in the new HBO series. John Hurt - who passed away in 2017, aged 77 - took on the role in the Harry Potter movies. Other new cast members include Rory Wilmot as Neville Longbottom, Amos Kitson as Dudley Dursley, and Louise Brealey as Madam Rolanda Hooch. Production has started at Warner Bros. Studios in Leavesden, Hertfordshire, on HBO's Harry Potter series, which will debut in 2027 on HBO and HBO Max. The latest casting comes after Harry Potter added nine stars to the series - which will be a faithful adaptation of the beloved Harry Potter books by author and executive producer J.K. Rowling - last month. Rivals actress Katherine Parkinson joined the show as Molly Weasley, and Dalgliesh star Bertie Carvel will portray Cornelius Fudge. What's more, Lox Pratt and Johnny Flynn will take on the roles of Draco Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy respectively, and Bel Powley and Daniel Rigby will portray Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Newcomers Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout will play the main characters Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Francesca Gardiner - showrunner and executive producer - and fellow exec producer Mark Mylod said: "After an extraordinary search led by casting directors Lucy Bevan and Emily Brockmann, we are delighted to announce we have found our Harry, Hermione, and Ron. "The talent of these three unique actors is wonderful to behold, and we cannot wait for the world to witness their magic together onscreen. "We would like to thank all the tens of thousands of children who auditioned. It's been a real pleasure to discover the plethora of young talent out there." John Lithgow (Albus Dumbledore), Janet McTeer (Minerva McGonagall), Paapa Essiedu (Severus Snape), and Nick Frost (Rubeus Hagrid) will be series regulars, and other recurring cast includes Luke Thallon (Quirinus Quirrell) and Paul Whitehouse (Argus Filch).
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Life and work of Thomas Hardy to be performed at Stonehenge
The novelist and poet Thomas Hardy was fascinated by Stonehenge, using what he described as 'the temple of the winds' both as a setting for one of his most striking scenes and as a lifelong inspiration, a pathway back into ancient times. In what is being billed as a unique performance, the life and work of Hardy is being showcased at the great stone circle in Wiltshire as part of Salisbury international arts festival. The performers, including Anton Lesser, best known for appearances in Game of Thrones and The Crown, will be reading from Hardy and depicting scenes from his life in front of the stones as the audience listens through headphones. An orchestra will play music, ranging from the sort of folk tunes Hardy may have been familiar with to pieces by Gustav Holst and Peter Warlock. Lesser said A Beautiful Thread: Thomas Hardy in Words and Music was full of 'love, life and laughter', and said it meant he could say he had done a gig with 'the Stones', though not the rolling ones. It is believed to be the first time that a performance incorporating Hardy's life and work has been staged at Stonehenge. Lesser said: 'Hopefully it'll be lovely weather and you'll have this marvellous atmosphere as the evening develops with the light changing and these wonderful words of Hardy.' While he knew the novels, Lesser said he had been 'transported' when he delved into Hardy's poetry. 'The poems are like little dramas. They draw you into the whole world within a few lines.' He began turning down the pages of poetry he liked as he studied for the performance. 'And if you saw the spine of the book now, almost every page is marked – it's ridiculous.' Angelique Richardson, a professor of English at the University of Exeter and a Hardy expert, said the writer was drawn to the stone circle. 'He was fascinated by the past, by mystery and memory, and by the persistence of the past into the present,' Richardson said. In Tess of the d'Urbervilles, the tragic protagonist comes upon Stonehenge while on the run after committing murder. She says: 'It hums … hearken!' Hardy writes: 'The wind, playing upon the edifice, produced a booming tune, like the note of some gigantic one-stringed harp.' Tess falls asleep on a stone at this 'solemn and lonely' place and when she awakes is arrested. Richardson said Hardy often returned to the subject of Stonehenge, and once said: 'Personally I confess to a liking for the state of dim conjecture in which we stand with regard to its history.' Following a visit he mused that the 'misfortune of ruins' was to 'be beheld nearly always at noonday by visitors, and not at twilight'. He also wrote to the Times in support of an appeal in the 1920s for funds to buy land near Stonehenge to prevent building close to it. Richardson, who leads the Hardy's Correspondents project at Exeter, which hopes to make more than 5,000 letters sent to Hardy and his first and second wives available to the public, said that in his library at his home, Max Gate in Dorchester, he had volumes featuring Stonehenge including Black's Guide to Dorset, Salisbury, Stonehenge, Etc. Mark Chutter, the chair and academic director of the Thomas Hardy Society, said Stonehenge was very important to the writer 'not just in terms of his understanding of the neolithic but also the pagan world as well. 'Hardy stages his novels very much as a performance, in almost a theatrical way, so it makes sense for him to be performed at Stonehenge.' A Beautiful Thread will be performed at Stonehenge on 28 May and 1 June in Dorset as part of the Thomas Hardy Birthday Weekend celebrations, organised to mark the 185th anniversary of his birth.
