Accessibility options


Troops remember fallen comrades

Date: 9/11/2009 03:04:49

Search: Afghan remembrance service

Hundreds of soldiers gathered at the main British base in Afghanistan to pay their respects to their fallen comrades.

During the ceremony in Lashkar Gah, Helmand, Padre Mark Christian, the senior chaplain of 11 Light Brigade, said the soldiers were there to commit themselves to "the cause of peace and justice throughout the world".

About 500 men and women from numerous regiments attended the ceremony at the compound in Lashkar Gah, where wreaths were laid and a one minute silence was held after a poignant last post.

Many of the soldiers have lost friends and colleagues during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Padre Christian said his own thoughts today turned to a friend who was killed in the Falklands.

"Since then I have held these services in Bosnia and Iraq and here today in Afghanistan and I know many more people who have given their lives."

Referring to the shooting dead of five British soldiers by a rogue Afghan policeman on Tuesday, he said: "Of course, I was the chaplain to the Grenadier Guards so last week's incident was personal for me too. So I stand here and I grieve, I think of the pain of their passing and I think of their families.

Advertisement starts



Advertisement ends

"But that of itself is not what Remembrance is about. When we remember we think of those seas of our comrades who have gone before us, the tens of thousands of people who have given their lives for our nation and for what they believe in.

"I think of our core values, courage, discipline, respect for others, integrity, loyalty and selfless commitment, the values which they espoused. Remembrance for me is picking up the gauntlet, it is steeling ourselves for the fight that lies ahead of us for if we do not do that their lives have been given in vain.

"We are here today to remember, we are here today to commit ourselves to the cause of peace and justice throughout the world."

2009 © Press Association

Advertisement starts



Advertisement ends


Advertisement starts



Advertisement ends

  • Flood travel chaos
    Flood travel chaos
    Travellers in Cumbria face long detours as at risk bridges are shut in Cumbria
  • Record sell on Jackson glove
    Record sell on Jackson glove
    Michael Jackson items are auctioned off in the USA
  • Wales hammer Argentina
    Wales hammer Argentina
    Wales beat Argentina 33-16 in Cardiff
  • Gilbert's mince pie madness
    Gilbert's mince pie madness
    Comedian Rhod Gilbert releases his DVD 'Rhod Gilbert and the Award-Winning Mince Pie'. He reveals at his DVD launch that his Prince Charles run in didnt go as planned at the Royal Variety Performance
arrow
Flood travel chaos
Travellers in Cumbria face long detours as at risk bridges are shut in Cumbria

5 day forecastMy Local Weather

Cloudy
London
min: 10º
max:13º
 
 

Daily Pictures

Click here for a larger picture
Free daily picture newsletter
 
 
News

Advertisement starts



Advertisement ends

Skip to page content | Text onlyGraphical version of this page

Tiscali Quicklinks. Please visit our Accessibility Page for a list of the Access Keys you can use to find your way around the site, skip directly to the main navigation, to the page content, or to more links within news.

web |  shopping |  this site |  video |  local services

Page Footer


Access keys


You will need to use different key combinations in order to use access keys depending on your internet browser, find out which on our accessibility page.
  • (0) Navigate to Accessibility page.
  • (1) Navigate to Home page.
  • (2) Navigate to My email.
  • (3) Navigate to My Account.
  • (4) Navigate to Site Map page.
  • (5) Navigate to Contact us page.
  • (6) Navigate to Members channel.
  • (7) Navigate to Services channel.
  • (8) Navigate to News & Info channel.
  • (9) Navigate to Entertainment channel.
  • ([) Skip down to the Primary navigation block.
  • (]) Skip down to the more links within this section block.
  • (=) Bypass all navigation and jump to the content.
  • (x) Text only version of this page.
Background images used:
furniture images used in the site icons used in the site images used in the header