August 2025

On 15 August 2025 the UK commemorated the 80th anniversary of VJ Day, the day on which the surrender of Japan and the end of World War Two was announced.

This was a significant moment at Bletchley Park as it meant the end of almost six years of non-stop codebreaking and intelligence work.

For many it also brought an abrupt halt to years of training to learn Japanese and long journeys to reach postings in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere in preparation for the upcoming invasion of Japan itself.

In this ‘It Happened Here’ episode we are joined by Bletchley Park’s historians Dr Tom Cheetham and Dr David Kenyon to discuss how the Japanese war ended and the part played by Bletchley Park and signals intelligence.

Our thanks go to Owen Moogan and Dr Ben Thompson for voicing our historical documents.

Image: Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri. Public Domain, United States Navy.

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