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King Charles will say "forgotten" VJ Day warriors showed the world how freedom "can and must be protected". The monarch will pay a deeply personal tribute to those who continued to serve as Europe celebrated the end of the Second World War.

In a stirring speech broadcast to mark exactly 80 years since the end of the conflict tomorrow morning, he will describe how heroes fighting in the Far East and Pacific "gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected". On Victory over Japan Day, Charles, 76, will say triumph was made possible by close collaboration between nations, "across vast distances, faiths and cultural divides".

His message of hope on a landmark anniversary will end with a poignant message for the future, saying: "In times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link."

Later on Friday, he will be joined by the Queen at a Royal British Legion service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire where they will personally thank the last of the few.

There they will meet 33 VJ Day veterans, each aged between 96 and 105, who fought in what has become known as The Forgotten War. The guests of honour will be told their service and sacrifice will always be remembered.

Charles's six-minute international radio broadcast bore striking similarities to the emotional words of his grandfather George VI who, exactly eight decades earlier, declared "the war is over", adding: "From the bottom of my heart I thank my peoples for all they have done, not only for themselves but for mankind."

In his address Charles, Colonel-in-Chief of the Parachute Regiment, will also reference the horrors experienced by prisoners of war and innocents in occupied territories whose suffering "reminds us that war's true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life".

He is also expected to pay tribute to his beloved great-uncle Lord Mountbatten, the Supreme Allied Commander in South East Asia, who oversaw the recapture of Burma from the Japanese.

Among the heroes he will personally thank on Friday are Donald "Bill" Redston, 100, from Wolverhampton, saw action on D-Day before sailing 7,500 miles around India to fight the Japanese in Burma.

The former First Lieutenant, a great grandfather-of-six said: "I had escaped death on D-Day and avoided being shot at by Japanese in the jungle, so it was a huge relief to be going home."

The warrior will join fellow sailor Albert Lamond, 99, from Renfrewshire, Scotland, who also served on D-Day before fighting in the Pacific in the lead up to VJ Day when Imperial Japan surrendered to the Allies.

He said: "Sometimes it feels like yesterday. I can still see it so clearly - from D-Day to the long months that followed in the Pacific in the run-up to VJ Day. Those memories never leave you.

"After years of horror, that was it, the war was finally over. I remember feeling an enormous sense of relief, but also a deep sadness for those who didn't make it home. We had seen the cost of war up close, the lives lost, the suffering endured, and I knew that for many families, the relief of peace was mixed with grief that would never fade."

The Signalman, whose job was to evacuate prisoners of war he described as "living skeletons", said: "You never forget the war, never mind VJ Day, and you never forget the people you served with. The horrors should never be forgotten."

Thousands who continued to fight long after Victory in Europe Day on May 8, 1945, lived for decades without what they felt was due recognition of their service or sacrifice.

For the relatives of those who perished, either fighting or as prisoners of war, the fanfare of VE Day has always overshadowed the "Forgotten War" in the Far East.

They have campaigned for years for soldiers serving as part of what they call The Forgotten Army to be treated with the same respect as those who are revered for defeating the Nazis in Europe.

After VE Day the fight against the Japanese continued for three weary months with around 130,000 Allied soldiers enslaved in prisoner of war camps throughout the Far East.

The Japanese capitulation happened on August 15, 1945 - now known as VJ Day - with the official surrender signed by Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General Yoshijiro Umezu on September 2 on board the USS Missouri.

Royal Navy hero Billy Megraw was serving on board HMS Exeter when it was sunk in the battle of the Java Sea in 1942. He was held as a prisoner of war and taken to a camp in Makassar, Indonesia, before being transferred to Ofuna Camp in Japan where he was routinely beaten.

After 1,300 days in captivity, weighing just 5 stones, and losing all his teeth, he was rescued by an Australian naval group who stumbled across the secret site. He arrived in Liverpool on October 26, 1945 on board The Empress of Australia, eventually returning to his home city of Belfast for Christmas.

Kathy Bollom, who wrote the book Remembering Billy - a Daughter's Memories of a Far East PoW Survivor, said: "There was nobody at the quayside when the ships returned. There was no end of war celebration. The families had no news whether their relatives had died.

"There were no parties and celebrations like there had been for VE Day. Men like my father returned to silence, they were the forgotten ones. Sometimes they were even asked where they had been all this time. My father's family presumed he was dead."

"It was a glory for them to die for their emperor. They didn't appear to have any fear at all."

Tomorrow's service will honour those who served and fell during the final three months of the Second World War. They include hundreds of thousands of soldiers from countries including pre-partition India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and Nepal who fought alongside British Armed Forces in the Far East.

The service will be attended by survivors of pivotal battles including Kohima and Imphal, as well as those held as prisoners of war and veterans stationed in the UK and across the Commonwealth.

Veterans will be greeted by a guard of honour made up of servicemen and women from the Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force, and Gurkhas in recognition of service of 120,000 soldiers particularly in Malaya, Burma and Singapore, before they are saluted by a Spitfire, Hurricane and Dakota flypast from The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who will attend tomorrow's event alongside Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki, said: "Eighty years since our victory in the Second World War, we pay our respects to the many who fought, were captured, and made the ultimate sacrifice in the Far East.

"Our country owes a great debt to those who fought for a better future, so we could have the freedoms and the life we enjoy today. We must honour that sacrifice with every new generation."