Red Arrows flypast of Edinburgh as part of VJ Day commemoration

A Red Arrows flypast will be one of the few physical events to mark Victory in Japan (VJ) Day this year as commemorations move online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An online service of remembrance and a concert, as well as a two-minute silence will lead the commemoration of the 75th anniversary on 15 August.

VJ Day saw the end of the conflict in Asia and brought the Second World War to a close.

Claire Armstrong, chief executive of Legion Scotland, said: “Whilst VE Day 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.”

“This campaign saw some of the fiercest fighting of the Second World War and in some of the harshest conditions.”

She added that VJ Day will pay tribute not only to the British forces but the Allied and Commonwealth forces, “without whom the defeat of Japan would not have been possible”.

Among the events planned is a message from First Minister Nicola Sturgeon thanking the Second World War generation, and a two-minute silence.

The Red Arrows will perform a flypast of Edinburgh and Legion Scotland will be issuing medallions in honour of those who made a contribution to the war effort.