British veteran recalls surrender on Missouri

A British veteran recalls witnessing Japan's surrender as a young sailor off Japan and his later memories of the moment and its aftermath.

British veteran 100 recalls witnessing Japan surrender aboard Missouri

Reg Draper, now 100, recalls witnessing the surrender of Japan as a 20-year-old stores assistant on the HMS Duke of York off Japan. The captain’s announcement ended years of fighting and cheers rose through the battleship; Draper was aboard to help a friend, the ship’s photographer, when the instruments of surrender were signed on the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

On the return voyage, the Duke of York carried about 2,000 prisoners of war as Draper and the crew headed back toward Europe. He later described Arctic convoys delivering supplies to Russia and a 1945 journey to Sydney before joining the East Indies Fleet. After the war he built a life as an insurance salesman and says he plans to watch today’s 80th anniversary commemorations from his home in Cheshire. Draper also recalled a playful clash with Prince Philip during a deck hockey game when the future royal visited the ship, a moment that sits alongside his wider wartime experiences.

The piece foregrounds a personal, almost intimate memory from a long war. It highlights the mobility of Second World War service across theatres from the Arctic to the Pacific and shows how veterans carry fragments of conflict into civilian life. Stories like Draper’s remind readers that the end of fighting brought relief and routine, but also a complex mix of memories—celebrations, camaraderie, and the toll of war on those who survived. The account also touches on a royal connection that people remember differently, underscoring how public memory blends individual experience with national symbolism. Such memories deserve careful handling to honor both the facts and the human cost.

Highlights

History keeps teaching us to listen to those who lived it.