hundreds of thousands of troops from india, burma, china, and across asia we re india, burma, china, across asia werejoined by india, burma, china, and across asia were joined by hundreds of thousands more from europe, africa, australasia and north america. together, they served with the greatest distinction. without them, the war could not have been won. on this day in 1945, the surrender of imperialjapan and the cessation of fighting in the asia—pacific region, brought an end to six bitter years of global conflict. victory in europe had been achieved that may, of course. but, while millions in europe rejoiced, in southeast asia and the pacific, our long—suffering service personnel with their commonwealth and allied partners, continued the fight for three more months. it was their extraordinary endurance and fortitude which secured to the end of the war. and which was later confirmed by the ratification of the japanese surrender on the 2nd of september 1945 in tokyo bay on board the uss missouri. an event my father witnessed while serving with the british pacific fleet. from the adv

to remind oui’ conditions through burma.rs, they carried out gorilla warfare behind enemy lines and some real stories of headache heroism there. i am looking at archive footage you have given us. not quite —— he has got quite a jab there, hasn't he? what has it been like getting and correcting his stories and collecting the stories? it's been absolutely amazing because we have quite a large extended family and a number of us have got memorabilia and we have got it together and it's like slowly piecing together his life. we have the videos you mentioned and it's almost like getting to know him. it has been and continues to be a really fascinating experience and getting closer to the man that we have great pride in. we are hearing what you have described their and also his father refusing to go to buckingham palace because he didn't think he had done enough. he had not had face—to—face contact. these are heroes who are very modest and humble in terms of what they did for their country. what is your feeling in terms of keeping

and of course the burma railway memorial.me to this special remembrance event hosted by the royal british legion. 75 years ago today, some three months after victory was declared in europe, victory overjapan was secured. thi5 marked the end of a battle, which ruthlessly raged throughout asia and the pacific, between the empire ofjapan and western democracy. here, in the tranquillity of the national memorial arboretum, we are surrounded by memorials to the british commonwealth forces, which numbered over 600,000 fighting in burma alone, and over 1.3 million in south east asia command overall. allies from across the world, including india, nepal, east and west africa, china and america fought as one, side by side, and one of them was my father. we are extremely honoured to be joined by veterans from both the british and indian armies here today. britain and the commonwealth's principal fighting force, the fourteenth army, was one of the most diverse in history — over a0 languages were spoken, and all the world's major religions

also the longest defeat in the burma campaign.ise and train in india in 19a3 and 19aa the imperialjapanese army was decisively defeated and then the 1ath army under the leadership of a general defeated the japanese again in central burma in 19a5. that was fascinating, do the same in terms of the african troops, you said there were 80,000? for the african troops there was three divisions from east and west africa. as well as a brigade, i think... african troops to fight the 1ath army, but also fought in the arakan region... also alongside indian troops. an awful place to fight. i think their role is even more forgotten... there's been a lot of academic studies about the role of the indian army and very few about the indian army and very few about the african troops in the burma campaign... 0ur correspondentjohn maguire is at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire, where today's commemorations are taking place. the ceremony ended a while ago now the dignitaries are members of the royalfamily, prime the dignitaries are memb

madelyne burma spent 2 years looking for it with no success. finally someone suggested that she speak with one of bruno phone fiberglass former colleagues who had retired almost 20 years earlier. this was the breakthrough. of of his own vibration when our collections were being hotly dismantled at the institute to make room full of the. or a tree's professor phone freiburg said to me dr shiflet this is the most valuable piece in our collection and so someone to treat it with can even see it out of the sacred to say the secretary and i put it in a safe at the institute just to do a mistake if they are. that was in the 1980 s. as to his when they said oh you mean the ape who says that in the safe back here in say fat was an unbelievable moment to my mother and. double dose if that then is safe was opened on the awesomes and out came a plastic food containers with a label on it. and there's a red marker for the word importance just draco pinkus for i barely. stay cool people take was fired back and on top of those receiving it end up with nasty cr

madly in burma spend 2 years looking for it with no success.inally someone suggested that she speak with one of bruno phone fiberglass former colleagues who had retired almost 20 years earlier. this was the breakthrough. of of his own vibration when our collections was being hotly dismantled at the institute to make room for liberal. trees professor phone freiburg said to me dr shiflet this is the most valuable piece in our collection and so someone to treat it with can even see it out of the circuit there so the secretary and put it in a safe at the institute just it wouldn't take a day aki. that was in the 1980 s. as to his when they said oh you mean the ape his that's in the safe back here in a safe at was an unbelievable moment. my mother and. uncle joe's if that then is safe was opened on all sims and out came a plastic food containers with a label on it. and a red marker for the word importance just draco pittacus for a bag. of a coop to take was 5 back in on top of the seating had another lasting through containers and he says it was a w

madelaine burma spent 2 years looking for it with no success. finally someone suggested that she speak with one of bruno phone fiberglass former colleagues who had retired almost 20 years earlier. this was the breakthrough yes. of wolf is over when our collections were being hotly dismantled at the institute to make room full of horror. trees professor phone freiburg said to me dr shiflet this is the most valuable piece in our collection and so some little treat it with can see a lot of the secretary so the secretary and i put it in a safe at the institute just to do it even if i akio. that was in the 1980 s. i was stunned he's when they said oh you mean the ape who's that in the safe back here i'm safe that was an unbelievable moment. my mother and. double dose if then is safe was opened on all things and outcome of plastic food containers with a label on it. and the red marker for the word importance just pray cope if it is for a bag. they call p.t. quits fly in and out to put those receiving end up with lasting through containers and he says

the prince of wales and veterans of the burma campaign lay wreaths at the national memorial arboretum as part of a service of remembrance. we'll have the latest from events in the uk and around the world, as we remember the day world war two ended. more anger at a—level results in england. we'll speak to the student who told the schools minister he ruined her life, after her a—level results were downgraded and she was rejected by her chosen university. and coming up, philippa thomas hears from people around the world about their extraordinary experiences during the pandemic and how covid—19 has changed their lives. good afternoon. the prince of wales has led commemorations for the 75th anniversary of vj day, when japan's surrender ended the second world war. prince charles joined veterans and military personnel for a service at the national memorial arboretum in staffordshire. he paid tribute to the courage of those who fought, saying their service and sacrifice would "echo through the ages" and remembered all those who lives were blighted by the conflict. nicholas witchell reports. a

you see a bit of our photograph here of the burma road, and these are called switch backs. it's such a tall grade you can't just drive up the mountain so it's back and forth and back and forth, and 1 mile can be 7 miles of driving depending on how many times you said to turn. so the japanese closing off the burma road led to flying the hump in world war ii and it's another campaign in far-flung terrain that was very unfamiliar to u.s. troops. so i think we've done a good job here of evoking it. what we have here is a so-called escape map. a flier would carry this of course if he's downed he could kind of orient himself on the map and try to get to friendly territory. this one is pretty unusual it's a little ticket the flier would carry and hand to local villagers and it says i am an american flier, i'm an allied flier, please give me all needed assistance. chinese of course were allies in world war ii. we have to explain this relations with china seem so tenuous today. they were fighting along our side alongside british and american forces against the japanese forces in wor

this was a very punishing campaign in burma.mstances over a very difficult terrain. and the gurkhas, with their endurance in their courage, suffered 2600, including 113 of their own british officers, and they were nine of the 29 victoria crosses that were awarded in the burma campaign. they have qualities of light—heartedness and gallantry, and i suppose those qualities are those that we'd all like to have. we would indeed. well, you've got a busy day tomorrow, and ido you've got a busy day tomorrow, and i do hope it goes well. thank you so much forjoining us on bbc news. thank you very much. now it's time for a look at the weather with phil avery. hello. another day of friday across the british isles, heavy parts in the british isles, heavy parts in the british isles, heavy parts in the british isles, other areas have been plagued by low cloud, especially where you have something of a low breeze. in parts of northern ireland, there's plenty of warm, summer sunshine. for the rest of tonight, there's still that threat ofa tonight

all three are recipients of the burma star.fence, ben wallace, along with the governor of the royal hospital, general sir adrian bradshaw, who has been meeting the pensioners, taking a salute and paying personal tributes to the pensioners themselves. the music you can hear there is being provided as part of this parade by the band of the coldstrea m this parade by the band of the coldstream guards. just one of the many coldstream guards. just one of the ma ny eve nts coldstream guards. just one of the many events that have been taking place today to remember vj day, the 75th anniversary of the ending of the second world war. you're watching bbc news. thousands of holiday—makers have arrived back in the uk after a last—minute dash to avoid a mandatory 2—week quarantine , which came into effect at 4am this morning. the new rules, which apply to france, the netherlands and four other countries, follow concerns about the rising numbers of coronavirus cases in each. andy moore has the details. the rush to return from france seems to

it is the cbi gallery, -- china, burma, india. a gigantic struggle was taking place in the asian mainland. our own purpose and our british allies was to fly supplies over the homeland mountains from and get to china to keep forces in the field. we called this entire theater china burma india. what we have here is a nice relief map of what it was like to fly the hump. taking off from somewhere in india or burma and then flying over the himalayas to get supplies and to china. flying over the himalayas is not these his flight the world. it would be difficult for modern aircraft. it was really difficult for 1940's vintage aircraft. there is a big downdraft as you press the mountain. there was also a road. keeping the road open was one of the principal points of the war in the theater. you see a bit of our photograph here. these are called switchbacks. it is such a tall gray, you cannot just drive up the mountain. you go back and forth and back and forth. one mile could be seven miles in driving, depending on how many times you had to

in burma jose ff stillwell's command with american, british and chinese fighters were driving back theapanese, opening the way for completion of the road which our army engineers were building as the land supply route by way of india. in russia german armies were in retreat before massive soviet counter attacks. to use an orlando army expression we were clobbering the enemy on all fronts, but it was no grand march, no sudden sweep to victory. for as the aggressors were driven back their resistance increased along with mounting investigation. we paid a price for every mile we took. the battle for germany was on. for the our armies were battering at the gates of the homeland. they drove mile upon mile of concrete fortification and antitank placements. ♪ two years and seven months after general mcarthur had left the philippines, he kept his promise to return. on the 20th of october, 1944, his forces invaded the island of laita. this too was to be no easy parade to victory. our soldiers were to face an enemy who would fight as their leaders ordered them to fight, to the death. they wanted

and the story of what took place in burma? why is it important that it keeps being told? the war in europe was horrendous, as was the war in the far east. obviously i have a personal connection, so telling my father's story enables me also to tell the story of and keep the memory alive of all those tens of thousands of prisoners and civilian captives and the other... notjust civilian captives and the other... not just the westerners, civilian captives and the other... notjust the westerners, but civilian captives and the other... not just the westerners, but also the people who suffered in the far east as a result of conflict. yeah. sally, obviously you were a child when he came home, when george edward milner porter came home. he passed away in 1979. but in terms of the relationship with your mother, we hear a lot about what used to be turned shellshock, which we now know as ptsd. a very serious condition. did your mother ever talk about what it did to their relationship? returning from war? well, our case is slightly different in that he was single and he met my mother

general still well was making progress in burma with hand-picked american infantrymen and british and chinese units. the tide of war was turning against the aggressors with a vengeance. just 97 days after the first army had led the assault on omaha beach, it had driven 500 miles inland and crossed the german border. the battle for france was nearing its end. the battle for germany was about to begin. the nazi reich was soon to reach full measure of the dragon's teeth it had shown. ♪ ♪ >> the immensity of global war. on the ground in jungles and swamps, mountains and forests, and on the plains, millions of men scattered around the entire world locked in combat. in the air, thousands of others with their bombing and fighting aircraft. on the seas and beneath, other thousands with their surface ships and submarines. incredibly long supply lines with mountains of materials to transport, vast communication networks stretching around the earth. it was the greatest concerted organization of military might in the history of the world. it was as if the concept of the battle of armageddon was b

lots of different memorials there and deviate that you just saw the prince of wales laying was at the burmamemorial, an incredible memorial as well in its own right actually made up well in its own right actually made up of sleepers and tracks from the railway that we know 16,000 prisoners of war died during the construction of. we want to have a quick chat to lynch helen commander... from the royal navy. —— lieutenant commander. you volunteer to be here today. why did you decide to be here today. why did you decide to come? it is an absolute honour and privilege to be here and i would like to thank the royal british legion for organising this event and to the veterans and their family for attending. it has been a lovely ceremony. attending. it has been a lovely ceremony. i wanted to volunteer this event. my grandfather served in the south china sea at the very early pa rt of south china sea at the very early part of the world. from the stories i heard i don't know that much about his time out there that he was lucky to leave as late as 1941 before coming back to the uk and captioning or ca

during the burma campaign. but hammond has been reflecting on his time in burma.took a liking to me. i was ready to go to the war in india and burma. the fighting was so ferocious. i have never seen anyone fight like the japanese. when you see an enemy, you know they will kill you straightaway, but we were not sluggish. we were... to kill all or be killed. and sometimes were in the weather up to a neck like this. the bullet touches your brother... and he fell. you have no right to go back, touch them or do anything. you keep moving. when you wake you be court—martialed. you wipe your face, so nobody sees your tears. we are black. japanese snipers, they don't see the black colour. but every morning you see that six or seven fights were attacked, but no one will die. so people use black ointment to cover their face and the killing stops. sometimes we used to say, we are black, they don't see us! you see? soldiers are more than... comrades, chip, the relationship is excellent. their fathers fought with spears, but these manhandle their modern experts as —— their mode

to believe this could be a coup d'etat but right now it's not clear what the situation is like in burma call but these things have been good on since the early hours of today they've been reported a gun shots fired out on the military zone in kutty and from us already and no way have advised their citizens living in in mali especially in bamako area to stay at home so we've spoken with some sources inside because the economic community of west african states which has been trying to mediate in the crisis in much mali for the past one month but unfortunately those talks. come to nothing we will position restarting protest last week a source inside because he's telling us the big series of meetings and they may not be connected with the latest developments it mildly but so far a course has not issued any statement regarding the situation in but michael what we know is that protests have been happening in burma in mali especially in the city of buckle since june trying to force president to leave office following the parliamentary elections which the opposition claimed was raked in favor o

private hammond has been reflecting on his time in burma.d some of the images distressing. i see the fighting. the artillery. the bombs from the aeroplane. it is madness. i've met two officers at the recruitment centre. they take a liking to me. i was going to the war in india and burma. the fighting was so ferocious. i have never seen anything like that fighting. when you see a enemy, you killed him straightaway. we were not sluggish. we were prepared to kill or to be killed. in some of the river it was up killed. in some of the river it was up to our neck like this. a bullet touches your brother and he fell. you just luck. you have no right to go back, touch them or do anything. you get moving! when you weep, you will go hide yourself when things are good. you will fight. you'll wipe yourface. nobody are good. you will fight. you'll wipe your face. nobody sees it. are good. you will fight. you'll wipe yourface. nobody sees it. we are black. japanese snipers, they don't see the black colour. every morning, at the end of it, you see that. si

i left a very good friends in burma. and it is a matter of, um...| in burma.idn't come back, but at least they were doing a grand job and they were appreciated and remembered. were doing a grand job and they were appreciated and rememberedm were doing a grand job and they were appreciated and remembered. it is a great pleasure to meet you, because we are getting thin on the ground, the people who were there. so we've got to stick together, what few of us are left. very true. i'm delighted to meet you, thank you very much for coming. i'm certainly thankful to meet you too. i followed your exploits. i've watched you walking up and down here. i wish i would be doing it myself, i admired you very much, and thank you for all your efforts. thank you. horrendous times, difficult stories, but memories shared by those who served so farfrom home. john macguire, bbc news, bedfordshire. we are going to talk tojohn maguire now actually because john we are going to talk tojohn maguire now actually becausejohn maguire is hosting our coverage of what is happening at the natio

the uk, india and across the commonwealth, were tasked with retaking myanmar, at the time known as burmain europe, they‘ re often referred to as the ‘forgotten army'. one veteran, john hutchin who's 96, was part of the chindit special forces, which fought behind enemy lines in burma, facing disease and monsoon rains. he's been speaking to our correspondent, robert hall. twice a day for five weeks, they attacked. morning... and evening. our losses were very heavy. archive: here they are in close up for the first time in newsreels, the chindits. they took their badge from the lion statues which guarded burmese temples, the ragged contingents from britain and the commonwealth, outnumbered by the japanese, unrecognisable through hunger and illness. john hutchin had volunteered for the chindits, fighting through the monsoons in 19114. he came close to death. when i went in, i was 11 stone. i was now eight stone four, a skeleton. i had no energy, no fight, no spark. so the rule was, before we went in, if you're killed, you're dead because your purpose in there is to kill or be killed. if you w

to burma, to australia, eastward across the atlantic to north africa, the length of the mediterraneane middle east and the southern route through the persian gulf to russia, to great britain, iceland, and to russia by way of the far north. and ultimately the entire continent of europe. under land leased to our allies alone, the services of supply shipped approximately $25 billion worth of war material. these included approximately 850,000 pieces of heavy equipment, tanks, locomotives, trucks. free french forces in north africa were supplied enough arms and material to equip 12 combat divisions. millions of dollars worth of supplies went to china. flown there from india. to russia alone, over the submarine routes, almost a half million pieces of heavy equipment held clothing, vast stores of munitions and equipment went to england and her commonwealth. all of this while we were supplying our own widely deployed forces and building up mountains of supplies for the massive invasion of europe yet to come. the miracle of supply achieved by the united states army in world war ii was historic

. >> are burma quite is joining us by zoom for what appears to be a lovely morning outside of your window in ann arbor michigan are plenty of colors for you this morning diana is in livingston new jersey democrat. good morning. >> hi good morning. i would just like to say that it's great that they are going to review the details of this case because there is a lot that ground that has been left out on how the attorney general ms. portrayed counsel mueller's findings and also how flynn, just that he pleaded guilty twice and only until r got appointed did he withdraw his guilty plea. we never got an answer as to why he lied or he thought that he was doing something innocent and legal then why did he lie about it and what's going on with saudi arabia and the arms deal and everything? this needs to be looked at but when judge sullivan are someone said he sold out his country, he really did. he will profit off of this new presidency but if you look around he is righted himself with tax cheats and opportunist people that are over there pro lobbying for russia. >> barbara mcquaide you can jump i

those who took part were the forgotten army fighting against the japanese in the jungles of burma andl arboretum in staffordshire on saturday 15th august, the 75th anniversary of victory overjapan, vj day, the prince of wales will lead the commemorations with the commemorations with the commemoration of the moment that the global conflict that was the second world war finally came to an end. the service which will include a national two—minute silence will be attended by a number of veterans who fought in the far east, and it will be broadcast by the bbc. the duke of cambridge will take part in a programme, vj day 75, the nation's tribute, to be broadcast on bbc one. among the veterans who will feature will be the duke of edinburgh. as a young royal navy officer he was on board a british warship in tokyo bay for the signing by the japanese of their surrender. and captain sir tom moore, another veteran who served in the burma campaign, has voiced the hope of all of his comrades. i respectfully ask britain to stop whatever it is doing and take some time to remember, he said. we must all

general stillwell and his troops were fighting the japanese in burma.s global warfare on a scale never known before. less than three years before, hitler had addressed the right stuck. >> germany italy and japan will wage common war upon the united states to a victorious conclusion. >> in rome, fascist partner a declared. >> italy and national the socialist germany ever closely linked will participate today on the side of heroic japan against the united states. >> a japanese joined the decisive. course >> americans have radios, automobiles, big beefsteaks. one of people has those things, they don't want to fight. americans won't sleep in hammocks or lion trenches. they are like a tiger who stomach is full. they are sleepy. >> the american is no soldier. >> the american no soldier? and yet there he was carrying the fight to the forces of justice. ♪ ♪ the self acclaimed superman was learning to his bitter surprise in store all the fighting qualities of the american soldier. it seems the aggressors had made a slight miscalculation. ♪ ♪ ♪ and italy, our for

during the war he served in burma.ur's time on bbc breakfast. it has been painted by sir alex chamberlain —— alex chamberlain, who said it was an honour to capture captain tom moore. this painting will be enjoyed for many years to come. we will be talking to the artist and speaking to other people hear about the importance of this painting and we will give you a preview of a film captain tom moore has made about his experiences in burma. all that come in on our‘s time, the drapes will be dropped and we will see the painting in all its glory. thank you! here's sarah with a look at this morning's weather. i walked in this morning, it is slightly cooler. i am seeing misty pictures in dover, you had thunderstorms behind you on one of your graphics, now you are misty ain! your graphics, now you are misty again! there is still some sunshine, though, there is some sunshine? yes, but it is four seasons in one day, a bit of everything tracked into the hmmfi bit of everything tracked into the forecast with a lot of mist and fog a

the newest mission, i read in norway, and in burma. >> so we are very open to our church. so, whenever there's a need for china to explore to the area, to work with a local church, or to work with people who live there. >> and i read that your mission is particularly for the poor. and that includes the large immigrants, the migrant group circulating to the response to their needs as well. so i guess, because we are very international. >> are missionary society because we can't go to different countries, and to be with your own people, to know that they are in a different country but also with your own people. so many immigrants here in the bay area. so, i have an advantage because i know the culture, i can work a peep or. it's truly a blessing for us. >> that's wonderful. we will come back after this brief break and talk more about the history and future of catholicism for the chinese. >> hello, welcome back. as we mentioned, there's a long history of chinese catholics in san francisco, and in fact, the chinese population i believe in san francisco is about one in five of

the uk, india and across the commonwealth, were tasked with retaking myanmar, at the time known as burmaed to as the "forgotten army". 0ne veteran, john hutchin who's 96, was part of the chindit special forces, which fought behind enemy lines in burma, facing disease and monsoon rains. he's been speaking to our correspondent, robert hall. twice a day for five weeks, they attacked. morning... ..and evening. 0ur losses were very heavy. archive: here they are in close up for the first time in newsreels, the chindits. they took their badge from the lion statues which guarded burmese temples, the ragged contingents from britain and the commonwealth, outnumbered by the japanese, unrecognisable through hunger and illness. john hutchin had volunteered for the chindits, fighting through the monsoons in 1944. he came close to death. when i went in, i was 11 stone. i was now eight stone four, a skeleton. i had no energy, no fight, no spark. so the rule was, before we went in, if you're killed, you're dead because your purpose in there is to kill or be killed. if you were walking wounded, you carrie

every corner of the city and the country so that nothing goes waste and we provide more and more than burma do you make a circle. around them it's a big part of. avoiding plastic in everyday life is not easy the plastic food a kitchen essentially it's hygenic and keeps food fish but of course this used plastic ends up in the garbage bin and can only be recycled with great difficulty if at all a job and start up has now developed a more stable feel and innovative idea that's waiting to be implemented on the larger scheme. packaging that decomposes after it's used. that disappears without causing any damage to the environment. researchers and designers around the world are trying to realize this vision. among them a product designers katia and spend save as. the trigger for that work is the amount of trash that they themselves produce. when. the couple have long been aware of the issue. but despite their best efforts they're aware that avoiding packaging altogether is still extremely tricky. for 115 yeah about 15 years ago we were standing in our pantry wondering why a 3 person household gene

troops across the mmonwealth were pt of the effort to retake burma. was part of the specl forces that fought behind enemy lines, and he has been speaking to our correspondent, robertall. attacked. morning. and evening. [loud explosions] >> our correspondent: here they are inclusive. they tk their badge from the statues thte guarded the les, the ragged contingents outnumbered by the japanese, unrecognizable through hunger charge hutch and volunteered for the group at was fighting through the monsoons in 1944. he came close to death. >> when i went in i was 11 stone. i was now 8 stone, four. i had no energy, no spark. i was a sleton. so, the rule wasbefore we went in, if you are killed, you e dead. it was kill or be killed. you were walking wounded, you carried on. possible, and it impeded e you are the -- you are left -- were. le i was left. with four days' rations. i lay and i couldn't move. and i found i had a spark. i was not dead. i was notob ie. i got upnd after four days four nights, and i marched alone. til i reached armen -- reached our men. co

is unconditional and free and on is in burma guarding to main us the news and he is fine according to reporting what the bullet him to see me see me is described as the syrian military or you and who knows the top and according to was what he said the. people a lot believe on him and the lean in. is warm and what he think the power of a lot of money and went down the street protesting against the regime they really need change but the let me just go on some point when. everybody an up wanted him like in men of the city asian and man and on problems of money and he had no properly again into. never see for peace and instead is stuck in he enough and and and once all do the killing of minutely but if we'd like to see since the big gun came to power and didn't know the problem couldn't be resolved and dance once my son frustration. and see how the study of court will come back to those points in detail later. now let's take a look at some other military coups in the raids into 1000 turning jointer overthrew president my mother turned after he attempted to extend his role in 2013 it was 1

the prince of wales and veterans of the burma campaign lay wreaths at the national memorial arboretumrance. more anger at a—level results in england. we have been hearing from a student who said her life has been ruined. thousands of holiday—makers have arrived back in the uk after a last—minute dash to avoid a mandatory two week quarantine that came into effect at 4am this morning. now on bbc news, philippa thomas hears from people around the world about their extraordinary experiences during the pandemic and how covid—19 has changed their lives. welcome to coronavirus: your stories, a programme about how covid—19 is changing the lives of people around the world. i'm philippa thomas and this week we are talking about relationships and the way we think about them, what the pandemic has done to change the way that we look at each other. later, i'll ask you to imagine that you'vejust met someone, you've been on a few dates, it's looking good and suddenly it's lockdown and you have to spend every minute of every day together. that's what happened to katie and ryan, a canadian and a brit

british troops had been forced to retreat from burma by the japanese.g that could aid the enemy — like food stocks and boats — were seized or destroyed. british officers in india sent a telegram after telegram describing how grave the situation was. but for months, mr churchill's government turned down requests to urgently export food that could've saved lives. they feared it would reduce stockpiles in the uk and take ships away from the war effort. he felt more could be done by local politicians to help the starving. viceroy to india, archibald wavell, called the bengal famine "one of the greatest disasters to have befallen people under british rule," and said the reputational damage was incalculable. during one government discussion about famine relief, secretary of state for india leopold amery recorded mr churchill saying that any aid sent would be insufficient because indians bred like rabbits. it is a man—made famine because of global conditions during the war. but i don't think we can blame churchill for causing it. what we can say is that he did

john hutchin, who's 96, was part of the chindit special forces, which fought behind enemy lines in burma. he's been speaking to our correspondent, robert hall. twice a day for five weeks, they attacked. morning... ..and evening. 0ur losses were very heavy. archive: here they are in close up for the first time in newsreels, the chindits. they took their badge from the lion statues which guarded burmese temples, the ragged contingents from britain and the commonwealth, outnumbered by the japanese, unrecognisable through hunger and illness. john hutchin had volunteered for the chindits, fighting through the monsoons in 19aa. he came close to death. when i went in, i was 11 stone. i was now eight stone four, a skeleton. i had no energy, i had no fight, i had no spark. so the rule was, before we went in, if you're killed, you're dead because your purpose in there is to kill or be killed. if you were walking wounded, you carried on. if none of those things were possible and it impeded the advance of those 80 men, you were left. i was left... ..with four days' rations... ..and ammunition. i lay

the prince of wales and veterans of the burma campaign lay wreaths at the national memorial arboretum