Remembering the fallen

War veterans who gave their lives fighting for their country willbe honoured at the weekend in remembrance ceremonies across Bath andnorth east Somerset.

The main service will take place at the War Memorial in RoyalVictoria Park with a wreath-laying ceremony from 11am.

It will be attended by the Mayor of Bath, Cllr Tim Ball, andleader of Bath and North East Somerset Council, Cllr FrancineHaeberling.

In the afternoon there will be the Royal British LegionRemembrance Day March past the Guildhall at 2.30pm, and a civicprocession to Bath Abbey for a 3pm service.

Another service will also be held at the cemetery in Haycombe.

That service, which starts at 10.45am, will be held on the grassbetween the Cross of Remembrance, war graves and the Bath Blitzgraves.

It will be led by the Rev David Burleigh, rector of EnglishcombeParish Church, with members of St Mary's Bathwick Church Choirleading the singing.

Chairman of the council, Cllr David Bellotti, will be at theHaycombe service and said everyone was welcome to attend the event.

He said: "The service is being held to provide an opportunity forpeople to gather together in memory of all of those who died inconflicts."

Other services taking place on Sunday include a parade andservice in Keynsham from 9.40am at St John's Church.

On Armistice Day on Tuesday a two-minute silence ceremony will beheld in Parade Gardens with maroons fired to mark the start andfinish.

There will also be a short service taking place outside BathAbbey.

A short service will take place on Tuesday at Combe Down. It willstart at 10.40am in Holy Trinity Church and wreaths will be laid onthe Firs Field war memorial, just after 11am.

Contractors working underground to stabilise the Combe Down Mineswill stop work so villagers and miners will together remember thefallen.

There will also be schoolchildren present from Combe Down PrimarySchool.

Last weekend military cadets and civic leaders were among thosewho gathered in Abbey Church Yard to begin the annual process ofremembering the war veterans.

People came to watch the Laying of the Field of Poppies serviceby the large grass cross outside the abbey to pay their respects tothose who have served in conflicts.

People placed crosses bearing poppies onto the Royal BritishLegion's Field of Remembrance, which symbolises the poppy fieldswhere so many soldiers lost their lives in the First World War.

Cllr Ball and Major Rikki Peters, chairman of the Bath branch ofthe Royal British Legion, led those paying their respects.

Maj Peters, who has organised parades for 25 years, said: "It wasa marvellous ceremony, although it was bitterly cold. It isabsolutely essential that we continue to remember those who gavetheir lives. The number of veterans goes down every year but thenumber of spectators is always rising, which is incredible."

Chairman of the War Memorial committee, Philip Bishop, said:"Servicemen are getting killed weekly in Afghanistan and Iraq and wemust continue these services to honour those losing their lives."