The Royal British Legion is calling on Second World War veterans to register to join commemorations for the 80th anniversaries of VE Day and VJ Day.

This year will mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War, with Victory in Europe (VE) Day on 8 May 1945 and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day on 15 August 1945.

Registration has opened on the RBL website, britishlegion.org.uk, and those who served in the Second World War, or their family or carers on their behalf, are being encouraged to register and join commemorations for VE Day and VJ Day 80 at national and local community events.

The RBL is planning major events to mark these momentous anniversaries to ensure the service and sacrifice of the entire Second World War generation will always be remembered.

Victory in the Second World War would not have been possible without the combined efforts of the Allied Forces, from Britain, the Commonwealth, and beyond, and all those who served will be at the heart of commemorations.

Last year marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day and it is hoped the nation will come together again for VE and VJ Day to pay tribute to those who gave so much for the freedoms which endure today in Britain.

D-Day veteran and retired rear admiral John Roberts, 100, said: “2025 is an important year for my generation, with anniversaries for both VE and VJ Day. It is always an honour being part of a Royal British Legion event, joining with comrades to remember and pay tribute to those we lost.

“I want to encourage all those who served their country in the Second World War to register on the RBL’s website, to make sure they are involved.”

John joined the Royal Navy in 1938 when only 13 and spent three-and-a-half years at Dartmouth Royal Naval College.

He left college in the summer of 1941 and went to sea in the battlecruiser HMS Renown. At this time HMS Renown was part of the Home Fleet and based at Scapa Flow, in the Orkney Islands.

While in the Home Fleet the ship had supported the Allied landings in North Africa. For D-Day John did not land, but operated offshore of Sword beach from 6 to 20 June 1944.

After Normandy John and HMS Serapis escorted the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary ships several times across the Atlantic.

In February 1945 John left HMS Serapis and went to Canada to start training as a Fleet Air Arm pilot. He left the Royal Navy in 1978, by which time he had become captain of the Ark Royal, then promoted to rear-admiral and finally becoming Flag Officer Naval Air Command at Yeovilton.

Philippa Rawlinson, director of Remembrance at the Royal British Legion, said: “These poignant occasions marking the 80th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day are likely to be our last opportunities to come together as a nation with veterans of the Second World War to pay tribute to their bravery and to those who lost their lives.

“Everyone in modern Britain will somehow have a connection to those who experienced the war, either through their family or community heritage. It’s important we mark these anniversaries with commemorations in communities and with national moments to thank our Armed Forces veterans, without whom the way of life we enjoy today would not have been possible.

“We are inviting all those who served in the Second World War with British and Commonwealth Armed Forces to register with us, so we can share their wartime experiences and sometimes ‘forgotten stories’ and ensure the significance of their contribution in shaping our world today is always remembered.”

As well as Armed Forces from Britain, some six million personnel from the Commonwealth served and contributed throughout the Second World War, with more than a million deployed in the Far East, and many more in the Middle East, North Africa and across Europe.

Registration is open to surviving British or Commonwealth Armed Forces veterans, as well as those who contributed to the war effort such as munition workers, Bevin Boys, those conscripted back home, from reservist occupations and the Special Operations Executive.

Those registered will be kept informed of commemorative plans and invited to local and national events.