THE end of the war and Victory in Japan day was marked with a small but poignant commemoration in Poole Park on Friday.

Representatives of the Poole Royal British Legion and Poole Ex-Servicemen’s Club along with the Mayor of Poole Cllr Peter Adams were among those gathered around The Mountbatten Memorial in the Burma Star Memorial Garden, where wreaths of poppies were laid in memory of those that gave their lives.

Observing the event was Burma veteran Bob Barnett. The 89-year-old from Christchurch, president of the Dorset Burma Star Association and Vice Chairman of the Royal Naval Association, Ferndown, served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to December 1946. He told the Echo: “The older you get it doesn’t get any easier. They say the Burma Campaign was the forgotten war, but we don’t forget. Those of us that are left don’t forget.”