Northampton singers' medley of wartime songs to mark VJ Day anniversary raises £1,800 for Help for Heroes

A medley of wartime songs by three Northampton singers to mark the 75th anniversary of VJ Day has raised more than £1,800 for Help for Heroes.

Broadcaster John Griff, the 'singing solicitor', Kevin Rogers, and Hannah Brady recorded four songs at Rockingham Castle to commemorate the official end of World War Two.

Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire James Saunders Watson gave his support to the project with a message at the start of the video, recorded by by Ben Thomas from All Things Business for free.

The Lord Lieutenant says: "Those individuals who fought in Asia and defeated Japan, when they came home, the whole country had really moved on and forgotten about the war and they are known as 'the forgotten army'.

"This whole initiative is here for us to remember them and what they gave 75 years ago.

"I'm delighted to support them and the great thing that they're doing is that all the money that this video raises is going towards Help for Heroes, which helps those members of our armed forces who have the misfortune of being injured in battle."

Victory over Japan Day (VJ Day) on August 15 is often overshadowed by Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) despite being the actual date British soldiers stopped fighting.

John came up with the idea to mark the 75th anniversary of 'the forgotten army's' return after speaking to a WWII veteran for a VE Day programme, Geoff.

Geoff shared how there was no celebrations to mark his return from Asia compared to the street parties and throngs of people cheering seen on VE Day.

The BBC Radio Northampton presenter roped in Kevin, chairman of Wilson Browne Solicitors and Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce president, and Hannah, director of The Brady Creative, which is based in Northampton.

The musical trio put their heads together and decided to record a medley of songs from the era: White Cliffs of Dover, Tipperary, Bless ‘Em All and a grand finale of We’ll Meet Again by Vera Lynn, in support of Help for Heroes.

On July 31, they met at Rockingham Castle to film the video with the Lord Lieutenant and Ben - all socially-distanced - before the All Things Business team put it all together with wartime pictures from families of all four businesses.

Kevin said: “Above all, we hope people enjoy the video, we gave it our best shot and are not (at all) professionals.

"We would love to make Help for Heroes proud of Northamptonshire businesses as we raise funds for such an important cause, whilst remembering such a historic day.”

To donate, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/ww2medley.