VJ Day 75: Second World War veteran from Portsmouth to join Prince Charles at national commemoration event
A VETERAN Portsmouth sailor is readying himself for a starring role at a national event to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War this weekend.
Albert ‘Les’ Wills will join Prince Charles and senior political leaders at the National Memorial Arboretum to mark VJ Day on Saturday.
The ceremony, set to be broadcast nationwide, commemorates the moment Japan surrendered during the Second World War, finally putting an end to almost six years of bloody conflict.
Albert was just 18 with nearly two years of service under his belt and on HMS Indefatigable in the Pacific when the war ended.
Speaking of his invite to the national ceremony, the retired Petty Officer said: ‘It is the highest honour to be asked to represent the Royal Navy on the 75th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
‘I do this in memory of all those who served their country during those difficult times. We will not forget you.
‘I am so pleased to be able to attend this auspicious occasion when so many cannot. It is a real privilege and will be a very special day for me.’
Les joined the Royal Navy fresh from work as a farm labourer in a sleepy Dorset village during September 1943, aged 16.
He spent 12 months training at HMS St George on the Isle of Man and left in 1957 as a Petty Officer.
He was part of the British Pacific fleet on HMS Indefatigable, the first British aircraft carrier to be kamikazed by Japanese fighter planes and the last to be left in waters after the surrender.
The ship went into Tokyo harbour for the signing of the surrender treaty, then carried released prisoners back to Australia and made a victory tour of New Zealand.
Les returned home to Portsmouth in March, 1946 and was surprised by his family when he arrived.
He had sent a postcard from Cape Town, South Africa, which arrived weeks after his homecoming, so he had assumed his family would not have been in Portsmouth to see him home.
After a short leave Les joined the home fleet and during 12 months he visited Norway, Scotland and France. Later he spent two-and-half years minesweeping the Mediterranean, and then on a trawler, working off Greece, and the Red Sea.
His last position in the navy was as a coxswain to the Queen’s Harbour Master at Portsmouth for two years.
Les added: ‘Service gets better the longer you are in the navy. When I left, I was at the top of my game, it was very hard to leave. I had been offered a commission based in South Africa, patrolling South America and the South Atlantic, for two years but my wife and young daughter had other plans for me.’
After his naval service, joined the Birmingham fire service and eventually rose to the rank of Assistant Chief Fire Officer.
Les later became the chairman of the HMS Indefatigable Association, staging a reunion at Portsmouth Cathedral each April
The Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum, including the two-minute silence, will be broadcast on BBC One from 9.30am
A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron
