Commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of VE and VJ Day: 10 July
The sun shone down for the Open Air Service as over 100 people attended a service of hymns, readings and reminiscences of the war. Later in the day the church was full to capacity for the Songs that Won the War concert, photographs of which you can see below.
The government, in consultation with veteran organisations, decided that the principal commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) and Victory in Japan Day (VJ Day) will take place on 10th July, a single day falling midway between the two anniversaries.
Bladon Junior Church commemorated the anniversary with an Open-Air Service on Bladon Village Green and a Songs that Won the War concert in Bladon Methodist Church.
2005 also marks the 40th Anniversary of the death of Sir Winston Churchill, who is buried in the churchyard in Bladon (pictures above). We held an exhibition of archive photographs and cine film showing the burial in the village of Bladon. Unlike the funeral, the burial was a private affair with the media excluded, so a record of the events is very rare.
