Last week the island and other adjacent jurisdictions fell silent in respect to those who had served in the armed forces and who never returned home.

We also recognised all those who did return but whose lives were changed by the trauma they had encountered and who never spoke about their experiences.

This year marked the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. On February 4 1945 Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill met at Yalta for a week-long conference that would determine the shape of post-war Europe.

The Red Army had already entered Germany and, at the beginning of March, US forces crossed the Rhine. At the end of April Berlin fell; Hitler was dead, and within days the war in Europe was over.

However, in the Far East, Allied prisoners of war were still dying in the infamous Japanese labour camps, and American casualties were high as their troops inched forward to Okinawa.

The Americans stepped up their bombing raids on the Japanese mainland and dropped leaflets warning civilians that they must ‘flee or perish’, but the Japanese cabinet rejected renewed Allied demands for an unconditional surrender as their army prepared to repel the expected US invasion.

At the end of July the Allies again called on Japan to surrender, but their demands were rejected, and on August 6 the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

Perhaps 100,000 people died that day, and within five years that number had doubled from the effects of burns and radiation.

The world had changed for ever as the atomic age dawned. Three days after Hiroshima the Allies dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki and the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. On August 14 Japan bowed to the inevitable and surrendered.

History recalls a tragic tale of conflicts over the centuries.

World War I, for example, saw 10 million military deaths and 21 million military wounded.

There were 7 million civilian deaths from shelling, occupation, famine and disease (especially the 1918 flu pandemic, worsened by war conditions).

Approximately 8,261 Manx servicemen enlisted and of those, in the region of 1,165 were killed.

Last week at the National Service of Remembrance at St John’s a page of names of casualties from the First and Second World Wars was read out by the President of the IoM branch of the Royal British Legion, Tony Brown.

I am old enough to remember the television coverage on a daily basis from the conflict in Vietnam, and I wondered about the impact of WWI on young people, which was clearly prior to such reporting.

Millions of children were orphaned or displaced, especially in Europe, while malnutrition and disease increased because of food shortages and destroyed infrastructure.

Psychological trauma was horrendous, as children witnessed violence, loss of family, and bombings for the first time in modern warfare.

Many schools closed or were destroyed and entire generations lost years of schooling. Some boys as young as 15 lied about their age to enlist.

Animals played a huge role in World War I as transport, messengers and companions. Eight million horses and mules, tens of thousands of dogs, thousands of pigeons and thousands of camels, donkeys, oxen and elephants were killed.

Britain sent 1 million horses to war and only about 62,000 came back.

The rest were killed in action, died from exhaustion, or were destroyed at the end of the war. After the war, the suffering of the animals led to stronger support for humane treatment and to the founding of organisations like the Blue Cross, and the expanded work of the RSPCA.

Just over 20 years after WWI came the Second World War. It was even more destructive for humans and for the millions of animals that served or suffered alongside them.

The total military deaths were in the region of 21 to 25 million, including battle deaths and deaths in captivity. Civilian non-Holocaust deaths were estimated at between 29 and 30 million from bombings, famine, massacres and disease.

Holocaust and genocide victims accounted for 6 million Jews and 11 million others. Wounded casualties, both military and civilian - many left permanently disabled - were between 25 and 35 million, and over 60 million people were displaced or became refugees.

The memorial Manx National Roll of Honour 1939-1945 lists 494 names of men and women who lost their lives.

More than 1.5 billion children were affected worldwide by World War II.

More than 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered. British and European children were sent to the countryside or abroad to escape bombings. Many children grew up without parents; others became refugees across continents.

Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and Japan used schools and youth groups to train children ideologically. The aftermath was one of lost childhoods, trauma and mass homelessness across Europe and Asia.

The estimated number of animal casualties in WWII is vast.

Out of 12 to 16 million horses and mules used, eight to 10 million were killed.

Of the 200,000-plus dogs used as mine detectors, sentries, medical aid and rescue animals, tens of thousands were killed.

Around 250,000 carrier pigeons were deployed, many of which were lost in action. Germany and the USSR relied heavily on horse transport as mechanisation lagged.

The Soviet Army began the war with 3.5 million horses; by 1945 fewer than 1 million remained.

After World War II the suffering of animals inspired international memorials, notably the Animals in War Memorial in Hyde Park in 2004 with the inscription ‘They had no choice’.

The Dickin Medal, established in 1943, honoured 32 pigeons, 18 dogs, three horses and one cat for bravery.

While some chose or were unable to ever speak about the horrors of war, others were motivated to speak publicly to schoolchildren to try and prevent further atrocities.

Some politicians, writers, poets and ex-service personnel have commented on the futility of war.

Other common themes across songs and quotes relate to innocence lost, young people paying the price for the ambitions of others, and the recurring hope for peace across decades, styles and ideologies.

Memory and protest - including the use of art and speech to remember and to resist repetition - also endure.

A number of ex-servicemen in our island have dedicated their time to speak on the subject to schoolchildren and others.

I am reluctant to mention just a few, as so many have played their part, including Hector Duff, who spoke to many audiences, and it was the schoolchildren he had so inspired who initiated his citation for the BEM.

Appointed as Honorary Colonel of the island’s Army Cadet Force, Charles Wilson inspired young people through his efforts on behalf of the ex-service community.

James Fenton, who served in Burma, spoke to young people in Onchan about his experiences. I remember at the time of the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II attending schools with other veterans and watching the young people, all of whom were amazed to listen to the first-hand experiences from our local heroes.

As well as ex-servicemen and others who attend our National Service of Remembrance at St John’s, a special guest was Tuula, a 13-year-old beautiful horse representing those animals who had no choice.

One quote that chimes with me: ‘Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it’