Just 8,000 Second World War veterans are alive – with the number of bravehearts who stood served set to dwindle to fewer than 300 within a decade.

The sobering data, revealed by the Royal British Legion, comes after a glorious summer in which Britain marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

Attention now turns to VJ (Victory over Japan) Day, when Imperial Japan surrendered effectively bringing the war to an end, on August 15. 

The charity has issued a SOS and called on those who answered the call of duty and who served in the Far East to come forward to be part of commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary.

A service is being held at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire to mark the milestone.

Those who contributed to the campaigns in the Far East and the Pacific, or their families on their behalf, are now able register. Invitees include those who served in Burma – now Myanmar – in the Pacific and Indian Ocean territories, those who were prisoners of war throughout the region and veterans stationed in the UK or Commonwealth countries who contributed to the logistical and intelligence war effort in the Far East.

During the Second World War, around five million men and women served in the British Armed Forces with millions more mobilised from countries including pre-partition India, Australia, Canada, across the Commonwealth including African and Caribbean nations.

While VE Day on May 8 signalled the end of fighting in Europe, and is incorrectly seen by many as the end of six years of global conflict, the end of the war would not have been possible without the combined efforts of all those who contributed to the Far East theatres.

VJ Day marks the anniversary when Japan announced its surrender to the Allied forces following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Owen Filer, 105, from Cwmbran, South Wales, who was serving with British forces in India on VJ Day, will be at the service alongside Burma Star recipients, British Indian Army veterans and those involved in the bloody fighting at the Battles of Kohima and Imphal. 

He said: “This is a significant moment for my generation and for all those who served out there and back home before Japan surrendered. It will be an honour to be with the Royal British Legion and fellow veterans 80 years after the world went through so much, and to remember those who never made it back. I would encourage all my comrades to visit the RBL’s website and register for what will be a very poignant day.”

Mark Atkinson, Director General of the RBL, said: “The 80th anniversary of VJ Day is likely to be one of the last opportunities as a nation to thank those veterans still with us today for their service and sacrifice. We now have a better understanding of how many Second World War veterans are left and it is more important than ever that we pay tribute whilst they are still with us. It was wonderful to see the nation come together for VE80 – now we owe it to all those with a connection to VJ Day to do the same, to pause and reflect on their contribution and legacy, including those across the Commonwealth who helped shape the world we live in today.”

The RBL used extrapolated from the 2021 England and Wales Census on veterans who had previously served in the forces and would have been aged 18 or over in 1945, and from ONS population estimates of those aged over 90, to illustrate how few of the greatest generation still remain. 

It is thought fewer than 300 will be alive to mark the 90th anniversaries of VE and VJ Days in 2035. 

According to its research, the RBL puts the surviving band of Second World War brothers and sisters as aged between 98 and 110.