The Mayor of Hiroshima sent a letter to the Mayor of Abingdon, along with the mayors of other towns and cities that have joined the peace accord. It was read out by the Mayor of Abingdon, Cllr Andrew Skinner.

Then, Emiko Urata, a recently retired teacher from Hiroshima, explained the significance of the paper lanterns she had brought from Japan and the paper cranes she had made herself.

Around 75 people gathered around the Peace Pole in St Ethelwold’s Garden to read the Peace Pledge together.

As in previous years, the lanterns were carried in procession to the River Thames. The first lantern was launched by the Mayor of Abingdon and Emiko Urata.

The Oxford Seagreen Singers sang from St Helen’s Wharf.

In Japan, many cities hold lantern-floating ceremonies at this time of year to remember those who died in the atomic bombings. This is the third year that the ceremony has taken place in Abingdon, marking the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.

There were twelve new lanterns this year, painted by the art club at Notre Dame Seishin Junior High School in Hiroshima. They joined lanterns preserved from previous years.

Each lantern carried a message of peace in English or Japanese, or featured symbols expressing hopes for a more peaceful world. (The kanji 平 is often used in Japan to signify a state of peace or tranquility.)

After drifting, the lanterns were collected by canoeists so they can be reused in future years.

The kanji 平 is often used in Japan to signify a state of peace.

At 12 noon on Thursday, the Abingdon Peace Group gathered in the Market Place to mark five years since the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons became international law, in January 2021.

Back in 2021, with Covid about, the group held a socially distanced event in a mostly deserted Market Place.

This week’s gathering echoed that earlier moment, but without the masks. Progress has been made since the treaty came into force. 74 nation states — more than half the countries of the world — have ratified it. The UK has not signed up.

Behind the treaty stands the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Its campaigning helped bring the treaty into being, and in 2017 ICAN’s work was recognised with the Nobel Peace Prize. More information is available at www.icanw.org.

On the evening of Wednesday 6th August, people gathered by the River Thames in Abingdon to mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The event honoured the many thousands who died, those who gave their lives helping others, and all people currently living in places of conflict.

The Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, Councillor Rawda Jehanli, gave a moving speech in St Ethelwold’s Garden. Having visited Hiroshima herself, she spoke vividly about the exhibits in the Peace Museum, and urged those present to keep believing that peace is possible – even when it feels so far out of reach.

Poems were read aloud, followed by a shared silence of remembrance. Roger Baker then led a community affirmation of peace.

Lanterns — painted by children in Hiroshima — were carried down to St Helen’s Wharf.

They were lit.

And floated on the River Thames.

Their light served as a reminder of our shared humanity — and how fortunate we are to live in peace.

At the end of the evening, the lanterns were retrieved by canoe.