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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Mathilde Grandjean

105-year-old taken as PoW after torpedo attack tells Sophie of VJ Day liberation

VJ Day Navy Aaron Chown

One of the oldest surviving veterans of the Second World War has told the Duchess of Edinburgh over a cup of tea how his Royal Navy ship was torpedoed by the Japanese before he was held as a prisoner of war for more than three years.

Sophie met 105-year-old Royal Marines veteran James “Jim” Wren in Salisbury on Tuesday ahead of the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day), which marks the surrender of Japan to the Allied Forces on August 15 and the end of the Second World War.

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