VJ Day Worcester Guildhall to be lit up as Amos gives thanks

Cllr Alan Amos is 'delighted' Worcester City Council decided to commemorate VJ Day (Victory over Japan Day) tomorrow (Thursday) by lighting up the Guildhall red, white and blue, the colours of the Union flag.

The former Mayor of Worcester, a city councillor for Lower Wick and Pitmaston and a county councillor for Bedwardine, is the son of soldier Bill Amos.

The late Bill Amos was a private who fought the Japanese in the Battle of Kohima which took place in three stages from April 4 to June 22, 1944 around the town of Kohima, now the capital city of Nagaland in Northeast India. 

HERO: Bill Amos, father of Alan Amos, continues to inspire his son and made him determined VJ Day should be commemorated on behalf of all veterans and their families in Worcester (supplied by Alan Amos)Cllr Amos feels VJ Day 'most definitely gets forgotten about' and the armies who fought in those theatres of war were still called 'the forgotten armies', something he is keen to help redress on behalf those men and their families. 

The Worcester News understands wider commemorates of VJ Day are due to take place next year to mark the 80th anniversary. 

BOMB: The mushroom cloud rises over Nagasaki in Japan after an atomic bomb was dropped (Image: Getty Images)

He said it was VJ Day that ended the war for Britain but was often overlooked and he was proud of Worcester City Council for listening to his representations, calling their response to his request 'marvellous'. 

He said: "This is not just for dad. This is for all the troops who were in the same position, fighting for their country. They were giving their lives for their country. They gave everything they had for this country. The least we can do is remember their sacrifice.

"We must never forget. This is for all the veterans who were killed and brutalised and tortured. It's also for their relatives."

INSPIRATION: Cllr Alan Amos continues to be inspired by the example set by his father, Bill Amos, and all those other soldiers who served in the Far East during World War Two (Image: Alan Amos)

The Battle of Kohima stopped the Japanese advance into India, and saw some of the deadliest fighting. Cllr Amos said his father rarely spoke about the horrors he had endured but he hoped his father would be proud that he had helped make sure those who served were remembered. 

RECOMMENDED READING: Battle of Kohima milestone: Alan Amos' pride in veteran dad

Even before he fought at the Battle of Kohima Bill Amos was wounded at Dunkirk. Born in Ilford in London (one of eight children), he also survived the Battle of the Imjin River, also known as the Battle of Gloster Hill in Korea in 1951, fathering four children including Cllr Amos.

Cllr Amos believes the controversial atom bombs dropped on Japan saved 'millions of Allied and civilian lives'.

Bill Amos died at the age of 84 in 2004.