The evacuation of Tristan da Cunha and Japan surrenders to China at the end of World War Two

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History interviews from the BBC World Service. We start with a BBC archive interview where one woman recounts what it was like to survive the earthquake and landside in 1961 following the volcanic eruption in Tristan da Cunha. Our guest is Anne Green, a retired schoolteacher from the island of Tristan da Cunha. She describes what it was like to return to the island in 1963. Then, the rare eyewitness account from a 105-year-old who is the only Briton alive today, that was at the ceremony when Japan surrendered to China in Beijing at the end of eight years of brutal occupation. Next, the economist who in 2001 wrote a report about countries set to shape the world economy, accidentally coining the acronym BRICS. Plus, the man who won the national competition to design the Indian rupee symbol when he was just a student. Finally, the story of how VHS and Betamax battled over which video recorder would win the home entertainment market. Contributors: Anne Green - former teacher from Tristan da Cunha Archive interview with Mary Swain - resident of Tristan da Cunha John Stanfield - British Army veteren Jim O'Neill - economist Udaya Kumar Dharmalingam - Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati Marc Wielage - digital colourist(Photo: Tristan Da Cunha islanders arriving in England in 1961. Credit: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)