On Wednesday 6 August 2025, the annual commemoration of the dropping of an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, took place at Abbey House, the official residence of the Mayor of Winchester. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In his address of welcome, the current Mayor, Councillor Sudhakar Achwal referred to his recent visit to Japan and of meeting the Mayor of Hiroshima. Mayors for Peace is a global network of cities, represented by the Mayors, which the city of Winchester joined in 2019, during the Mayoralty of Eleanor Bell. Eleanor read out the letter sent to the all the Mayors, from the the Hiroshima Mayor, Kazumi Matsui, which was followed by a minute’s silence.
Winchester Rotary was one of a number of city organisations present, others were: Winchester City Council Leader Martin Tod, Winchester University, Winchester Cathedral, Winchester Soroptomists, SGI-UK (Buddhist), PeaceJam UK and the Winchester Ukrainian Cultural Association.
The University representative brought seedlings from a gingko tree which survived the blast. Winchester Rotary Past President Richard Spalding spoke about the Peace Pole initiative, which it is hoped will be placed in the Soroptomists’ Sensory Garden.
A full report of the event can be found on the Hampshire Chronicle website – a reporter was present.
Further photos here.
Background to Mayors for Peace: On June 24, 1982, at the 2nd UN Special Session on Disarmament held at the UN Headquarters in New York, then Mayor Takeshi Araki of Hiroshima called for cities throughout the world to transcend national borders and join in solidarity to work together to press for nuclear abolition. Subsequently, the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki established “The World Conference of Mayors for Peace through Inter-city Solidarity” (now, Mayors for Peace), composed of mayors around the world who formally expressed support for this call. In 1991, the organization was registered as a NGO in Special Consultative Status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
