Several events planned in Sutherland to mark VJ Day 80
Several events will take place in Sutherland on Friday, August 15, to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Japan (VJ) Day.
VJ Day, which falls on August 15, marks the day on which Japan surrendered in World War II, effectively bringing the war to an end.
It is a day on which people can honour and pay tribute to the generation who fought in the war.
Nationally a two-minute silence will be held at midday, and churches across the country will ring their bells at 6.30pm.
A service of remembrance and wreath-laying ceremony will take place at Dornoch War Memorial at 9am. Members of the public are invited to lay a wreath or a posy.
A 1940s-themed coffee morning will take place in the West Church Hall at 10 am, followed by a children’s fancy dress competition with a 1940s theme on the Cathedral Green or in the cathedral if it is raining.
At 2pm,there will be a paper crane-making workshop in the Carnegie Library to commemorate Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
St Finnbarr’s Episcopal Church in the town will be open for “quiet reflection” from 5pm.
A celebratory event will be held at the Cadogan Lifeboat Station at 7pm. This will include a buffet, live music, dancing, community singing and a 1940s- quiz. There will also be an exhibition by Historylinks Museum, Dornoch, on the local impact of World War II. At 9.30pm, a Beacon of Peace will be lit, accompanied by a lone piper and the firing of a cannon.
In Brora, a wreath-laying ceremony will be held at Clyne War Memorial from 10am.A service and wreath laying will also be held at Lairg War Memorial, remembering in particular those from the village who were held as prisoners of war in Japan.