75th anniversary commemoration of VJ Day in Wick
VICTORY over Japan Day (VJ Day) was commemorated in Wick and other areas of Caithness on Saturday.
Members of the Wick, Latheron and Canisbay branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland (RBLS) gathered to pay homage to troops who fought in the Asia-Pacific region throughout World War II.
On the north side of Wick Bay, the grandchildren of ex-serviceman Tommy Munro raised the British Army flag next to the pillbox museum that was inaugurated last year.
Megan and Rory Watt had travelled up from the north of England on holiday with mum Angela and carried out their flag raising without a hitch.
A group of RBLS ex-servicemen then gathered outside Caithness General Hospital where they raised flags to commemorate the various services.
In Thurso, members of the town's RBLS branch laid a wreath at the war memorial. It is understood there are plans to dedicate a memorial seat at a later date.
While VE Day (Victory in Europe) marked the end of the war in Europe in May 1945, many thousands of armed forces personnel were still engaged in bitter fighting in the Far East.
Victory over Japan came at a heavy price, and VJ Day marks the day Japan surrendered on the August 15, 1945 – which in effect ended the war.
Britain and the Commonwealth’s principal fighting force, the Fourteenth Army, was one of the most diverse in history – more than 40 languages were spoken, and all the world’s major religions represented.
VJ Day commemorations not only paid tribute to the tens of thousands of service personnel who fought and died in the war against Japan but also those who were held as prisoners of war by the Japanese.