A TREE in a St Albans churchyard was dedicated yesterday to the victims of the two atomic bombs that ended World War Two 65 years ago.
Members of St Albans Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) joined parishioners of St Stephen's Church for a ceremony at a cherry tree replacing one dedicated in the Sixties which has since died.
After six years of conflict, atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima on August 8, and Nagasaki on August 9, caused casualties on a massive scale and brought the surrender of Japan.
David Leigh of CND St Albans said: "Many varieties of cherry trees come from Japan so it is appropriate tree to plant.
"In a time of cuts it cannot be right to spend £75 billion replacing our Trident nuclear weapons – a useless and dangerous cold war relic."
The Reverend David Ridgeway dedicated the tree with a prayer and invited people to attach crosses as symbols of peace and renewal.
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