FOR nearly 70 years Second World War veteran Victor Cox has hardly spoken about his service in the Royal Navy but as the country prepares to celebrate VE Day tomorrow he remembers the historic occasions of 1945.

Mr Cox, 89, of Kingsmanor Wharf, Devizes, was reminded of the end of the war when a family picture showing him in his sailor's uniform along with his two elder brothers Frank in his army outfit and Philip in his RAF uniform came to light.

He said: "The picture was taken in London just after the war ended but when we were all still in the services waiting to be demobbed.

"It was lucky that all three of us survived the war. I remember the day as we were only reunited for a very short time. But we never really spoke about what happened to us during the war years.

"In those days everyone had been in the forces and when we came home we just wanted to get on with life.

"It is only with the First World War commemorations and now VE Day celebrations that people have really started to show an interest."

On VE Day Mr Cox, who grew up in Etchilhampton as the youngest of eight children, was on a destroyer in the South Pacific as part of the Eastern Fleet when news of the end of the war in Europe came through.

He said: "I think we had a few drinks to celebrate but for us it was still business as usual."

Mr Cox worked as coder on the ship HMS Essex, which escorted aircraft carriers.

He said: "The main threat to us came from the Kamikazi pilots rather than torpedoes. Other ships were hit but fortunately ours was not."

One of the worst moments of Mr Cox naval career came when his ship docked in Nagasaki in August, 1945, just days after the Americans dropped a second atomic bomb on Japan on August 9 and VJ day on August 14.

The bomb on Nagasaki killed 40,000 and obliterated the city.

Mr Cox said: "The Americans wanted to show us around. It was total desolation. No buildings remained and there was just miles of rubble. It is a scene I have never been able to forget. I really couldn't believe what I was seeing.

"The end of the war was a huge relief and we all just wanted to get home but I wasn't demobbed until 1946."

When he eventually did get home to Devizes he returned to work at Fred A Gillett men's outfitters in Sidmouth Street, Devizes, where he had started work as a 14-year-old after leaving Southbroom School.

He went on to to marry Gene the daughter of the owner and eventually took over the shop. He retired in 1987 after Budgens, who wanted to build a supermarket at the back of his shop, bought him out.

At the time it was thought the land would be needed to widen the road but this never happened and the shop, which backs on to the car park of what is now Sainsbury, is now the John Parker gallery.

Mr Cox, who has been a widower for six years, has one son and two grandchildren.