Big crowds honour county's war dead

Organisers have reported the biggest Remembrance Sunday turnout in years as people paid their respects to the war dead.

The Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War encouraged large numbers to take part in events across the county.

Among those who braved the cold for the moving service at the war memorial in Victoria Park, Leicester, was Ray Hall.

The 83-year-old, of Oadby, served on a minesweeper flotilla with the Royal Navy during the second world war.

In 1945, his flotilla was sailing in the Mediterranean when many of his friends were blown up by a mine.

Ray said that during the two-minute silence, he thought of those lost friends.

He said: "I think about them all the time, but I remembered losing friends today.

"The service was fantastic and it's very nice to see lots of young people here paying their respects."

Peter Brown, 46, of Blaby, Leicestershire, served 25 years with the 2nd Battalion Royal Anglians, who are currently fighting in Afghanistan.

He said: "We have all lost friends. As long as the youth are here for the right reasons, which is to remember those who died, then it's good to see them."

The Lord Mayor of Leicester, Councillor Manjula Sood, laid a wreath of poppies on behalf of the people of Leicester.

Army cadets, the police, the Royal British Legion, the Territorial Army and religious leaders all took part in the city's service, which saw a march along Peace Walk, in Victoria Park.

In Coalville, around 3,000 people gathered at the Clock Tower memorial at 11am.

Roy Howe, of the Whitwick British Legion, said: "There were a lot more people here than I have ever seen."

Around 5,000 poppies were dropped from the Carillon Tower, in the centre of Loughborough, during the two-minute silence.

Ken Carson, Loughborough's parade organiser, has been attending remembrance services for 30 years.

He said: "The crowd gets bigger every year in Loughborough, it's a job to get them all on to the park, but we did it."

In Melton, Ted Stapleford, of the town's British Legion, said around 300 marchers took part in the parade.

He said: "The large turnout reflects how the public wants to pay its respects."

In Oakham, a remembrance parade took place at 2.30pm at All Saints church.

And in Hinckley, members of the Royal British Legion paraded to the memorial gardens at Argent Mead for the remembrance service.

See tomorrow's Mercury for more coverage of the parades.