Overview

• Royal British Legion data indicates around 8,000 British WWII veterans, aged between 98 and 110, remain alive out of five million who served.
• Projections suggest fewer than 300 of these veterans will be alive by the 90th anniversary of VJ Day in 2035.
• Estimates were derived from the 2021 England and Wales Census and ONS over-90 population figures to model surviving veteran numbers.
• The Legion is calling on those who served in the Far East, including in Burma, India and Pacific theatres, to sign up for the August 15 commemoration.
• Among those expected is 105-year-old Owen Filer, who was serving in India when Imperial Japan surrendered, marking VJ Day.