The Royal British Legion will not be unable to parade in Carlisle to mark Victory in Japan Day because of Covid-19.

August 15 is the 75th anniversary of Japan’s surrender which brought an end to the Second World War.

Despite the momentous occasion, coronavirus measures mean veterans cannot commemorate the conflict, in which three battalions of the local Border Regiment fought.

Instead the Carlisle and Stanwix Branch of the Royal British Legion has made a video as a tribute to those who served.

Tony Parrini, branch secretary, said: “It is such a sad situation but we appreciate it’s because of the coronavirus measures."

The soldiers were known as the ‘forgotten army’. The video tells the poignant story of a number of people including prisoners of war.

One of those that Tony interviewed was Tommy Tuer, an RAF armourer who was in Singapore when Japanese forces surrendered.

In the video he said: “When (Lord) Mountbatten signed the surrender, I was on guard duty at the time.

“The squadron moved out to Sumatra, the air force had to go in and look after the country until the Dutch could takeover.”

Another former soldier, Michael Bottomley, retold the experiences of his father Harold who was a prisoner of war during from 1942 to 1945. He was a talented artist who drew many scenes of camp life.

Michael said: “POWs were often subjected to harsh brutal and often inhuman treatment by the Japanese.”

Tony also shares memories of his uncle John Brookfield Gould.

He said: “My uncle died in 1948 and my mother never spoke about him serving in Malaya, although I served there from 1968 to 1971 my uncle was in Malacca cemetery.

“He was captured at the fall of Singapore and was taken to prison, then he went to build a railway in Siam.”

He’d spent time building the infamous Burma Railway before being evacuated to Japan prior to his release in 1945.

To mark the anniversary, the Museum of Military Life at Carlisle Castle will be holding an exhibition about the conflict and local connections to it. This will be set up on the parade square next week.

Jules Wooding, museum manager, said: “With social distancing measures in place we are doing it outside.

“We have a number of connections, three battalions of the Border Regiment were out there and we have the Burma Block in the Castle.”

To view the tribute to the veterans of World War Two in the Far East visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMIfn8REetE