Teignmouth marked VJ Day on Friday (August 15) with a flag-raising ceremony in The Triangle to mark 80 years since victory over Japan was declared bringing an end to the Second World War.

Town councillors, the town crier and Newton Abbot MP Martin Wrigley gathered to witness the raising of the flag and listen to an address by Reverend Dave Wilkie from the Haldon Mission.

Teignmouth mayor councillor Cate Williams said the commemoration was about more than marking VJ Day, but it was also about remembering how the community pulled together to look out for each other.

‘Today, as we raise the flag, let us remind ourselves of the unity that saw us through dark times,’ she said. She noted that the VJ Day anniversary was an opportunity to remember how ‘people rolled up their sleeves, not just for themselves, but for one another’ and that the sense of community helping each other out is ‘the most enduring legacy we inherit here today - the knowledge that when things are hard we can look out for one another’.

The community spirit continued with a cream tea celebration at the town council offices at Bitton House. Guests included 100-year-old Royal Navy veteran Jack Burgess.

Jack served in the Fleet Air Arm and was assigned to one of the Mobile Operations Naval Air Base (MONAB) units towards the end of the Second World War. MONABs were instrumental in supporting Fleet Air Arm’s contribution to the British Pacific Fleet during the latter stages of the war, enabling them to operate more effectively against the Japanese.

Later in theevening, the town gathered to watch the lighting of a beacon at the town’s war memorial on Teignmouth Promenade.