By the spring of 1945, it was clear to all but Japan’s
most fanatical leaders that her defeat was imminent. when, on July 26th,
an Allied call to surrender was ignored, it was decided to drop
atomic bombs. The first fell on Hiroshima on August 6th and three
days later a second was dropped on Nagasaki. Russia’s declaration
of war underlined the hopelessness of resistance and the Emperor ordered
a ceasefire on August 14th. General MacArthur accepted the formal surrender
aboard the USS ‘Missouri’ on September 2nd.
The main emphases of this second victory number, the ‘VJ
Number’ of August 25th
(Appendix List No. 132), were the celebrations
in London on VJ-Day, August 15th; the Thanksgiving Service in St. Paul’s
on August 19th, and the photographs of British and Empire leaders who
had brought victory over Japan and those U.S. Service leaders who had
engineered the Japanese surrender.
The cover is the normal advertising wrapper with the words ‘VJ Number’
above the title. it is issue number 5549, vol. 207, pages 197-224, measuring
37 x 26 cm and priced at one shilling and sixpence.