This week in the War, 27 Aug–2 Sept 1945: Japan signs the instrument of surrender

This week in the war, on 2 September 1945, Japanese foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, signed the instrument of surrender on board the battleship USS Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.

General Douglas MacArthur signed on behalf of the Allies. Representatives of many Allied nations attended, including General Philippe Leclerc of France and General Arthur Percival of Britain, the latter having only recently been released from a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp.

Also anchored in Tokyo Bay was the British destroyer, HMS Whelp. Its first Lieutenant was Prince Philip of Greece who, in 1947, would marry Princess Elizabeth, the future Queen of England.