THE Royal British Legion in Trowbridge marked held its annual field of remembrance at St James’ Church on Friday.

Canon Chris Brown of St James’ Church in Church Walk, Trowbridge, led a service in the grounds of the church and blessed the field where crosses can be left by the public to show their respect for all those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

Matthew Ridley, 82, has been Trowbridge Royal British Legion Chairman for 47 years.

He joined the branch 50 years ago after moving to the town for a job. He said: “We’ve held a field of remembrance for many years and we still feel it’s an important tradition.

“I became poppy day organiser in 1964 and I did that for 40 years.”

Dennis Smith, Welcome Sergeant for the Salvation Army, also laid a cross at the ceremony. He joined the army in 1949 and served in Malaya and Hong Kong with the Devonshire and Wiltshire regiments. He has been selling poppies for more than 20 years.

The British Legion has a poppy stall in The Shires shopping centre and they will hold a two minutes silence in the shopping centre at 11am on Armistice day, November 11.

Mr Ridley said: “We nearly always bring all the traffic to a standstill.”

  • A full round-up of Remembrance Day services and parades will be published in this Friday's Wiltshire Times and Chippenham News.