The Fusilier Museum - Victory in Japan – Appeal for stories
The Fusilier Museum, Bury is appealing to veterans or relatives of veterans who were in Burma to share their stories or experiences for a new project to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Victory over Japan.
VJ Day takes place on the 15th August this year and the museum plan to commemorate the special day with a programme of special events as well as a new film which will be shared on social media channels and its website.
Victory over Japan (VJ Day) saw the end to all hostilities in the Second World War. The Lancashire Fusiliers fought with various other units as part of the Burma campaign including the Chindits which was the largest of all the allied special forces of the Second World Word.
The award winning museum which closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic is hoping to be back open again in time for the commemorations.
Brian Gorski, Chairman of the board of Trustees at the Fusilier Museum said, “At this present moment in time it is unclear if we will be fully open for the 75th anniversary of VJ Day but we would still like to commemorate it in some way. We have lots of ideas that we are busy putting into a schedule but one of the projects we would like to do is to create a special film which can be used in a virtual exhibition, on our website and/ or social media channels as well as a display in the museum if allowed. We have lots of interesting content in our collection already which we can use in the film but we would love to hear from any veterans or relatives of veterans who were in Burma and would be willing to share their stories or experiences with us.”
The museum would love to hear from anyone who served with the Lancashire Fusiliers in Burma or is a relative of anyone who did – dad, grandad, uncle, cousin etc. Any stories or interesting items are welcome. Anyone with any contributions should contact Sarah Austin, Collections Manager at the Fusilier Museum on the following email address sarah.stevenson@fusiliermuseum.com
The Fusilier Museum in Bury, Lancashire, is home to the collections of XX The Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Documenting over 300 years of history and heritage through permanent and temporary exhibitions, the Museum tells the rich and fascinating stories of the people who have served and continue to service in the Regiments.