A POIGNANT ceremony in Sale remembered the contributions of the bravery of the 'Forgotten Army' in Burma and the Far East.

High Sheriff of Greater Manchester Eamonn O'Neal joined Trafford Mayor Cllr Rob Chilton to lay wreaths at the war memorial in Sale to mark the 75th anniversary of VJ Day.

Land surrounding the cenotaph is the site of one of the most eye-catching wartime scenes in the borough's history.

Street celebrations greeted the announcement that hostilities had ceased in the Pacific, in August 1945.

And the-then Mayor, Arthur William Mawer, who so moved by the occasion that he painted a depiction of the festivities outside the town hall, which still hangs at the venue and is part of the borough's archive.

A Trafford Council spokesman said on Saturday: "This morning the Mayor laid a wreath at Sale War Memorial to honour the 75th anniversary of VJDay, when the Second World War came to an end.

"The Mayor and the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, EamonnONeal, thanked the public who turned out to honour those who fought for our freedom."

While commemorations have been limited for VJ Day at 75, due to social distancing, researchers from Trafford Archives have also been busy recounting just how the public marked the occasion as part of their ongoing wartime heritage initiative.

The Sale Guardian, one of the Messenger's forerunners, reported on a number of street parties in Sale and Sale Moor, including gatherings in Dudley Avenue, Leigh Road, Elm Grove, Carlton Road, and Penrith Avenue.

The parties saw dancing, singing, a ‘talkie movie show’, buffets, fireworks, and even free rides for children in a dairyman’s milk van.

The Mayor and Mayoress visited a number of these parties. And at one party on Grange Road, the Mayor cut a ‘victory cake’, and was presented with the gift of a packet of cigarettes and a box of matches by a four-year-old boy.