Banstead Village

Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of VJ Day

From left to right: John Tickett, Liz Grover, Richard Anthony and Anne Anthony.

On the 75th anniversary of Victory in Japan Day, four bell ringers from the All Saints team tolled the bells to commemorate all those who fought and died in the Far East. The bells rang out across the village and a small number of people stopped by The Orchard outside the church to observe the two minutes silence.

We remember Douglas Roy Baple, Second Lieutenant, 1st Punjab Regiment 6th Bn.

Roy died on 15 February 1942 aged 22, at the fall of Singapore, one of the worst defeats of the British Army.

Sir Winston Churchill had stated before the final Japanese attack:

"There must be no thought of sparing the troops or population; commanders and senior officers should die with their troops. The honour of the British Empire and the British Army is at stake". . . Many brave men like Roy Baple died defending this honour.

We also remember Private Robert Monk of The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) 2nd Bn.
Robert died on 6 May 1944 also aged 22.

His friend, Jim Willis who worked on the bridge over the river Kwai always said "Robert would not leave his beloved mules and he was killed when the Japanese caught up with him". This was after the the 16th Brigade were ordered to move out. Robert had previously been a jockey at Epsom.

The full stories of these two men can be found on the website of the Banstead History Research Group (www.bansteadhistory.com)