Essex Remembers

Soldiers based in Colchester marched through the town to mark Remembrance Sunday.

Troops from 16 Air Assault Brigade paraded alongside veterans and the public before wreaths were laid at Colchester Cemetary.

16 Air Assault Brigade senior chaplain Reverend Alan Steele MBE said: ''The acts of commemoration which are held on Remembrance Sunday and 11th November to remember those who have given their lives in the service of the Crown and the country are of especial importance to the Nation and to the Armed Forces in this, the 100th year since the outbreak of the First World War

''We remember with deep gratitude the sacrifice of young men and women who died to secure peace for the United Kingdom; we are thankful for the benefits which the nation - and each of us individually - have received, which were made possible by the fortitude of our forebears, and we commemorate those who died, not only in the First and Second World Wars, but also in the conflicts of more recent years.

''The personnel of 16 Air Assault Brigade are, therefore, honoured to stand in communal silence alongside the people of Essex and Suffolk to commemorate the Fallen.''

In Colchester, a private ceremony was also held at Merville Barracks’ Memorial Garden for the families of 16 Air Assault Brigade soldiers killed on operations to lay wreaths and pay tribute to their relatives. Wreathes were also laid at the First and Second World War memorials in Colchester Cemetery.