About the Legion
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opens the Westminster Abbey Field of Remembrance
08 November 2012
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
opened the 84th Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey today and
viewed 115,000 Remembrance Crosses dedicated to all the brave
Service men and women who have served in our Armed Forces since the
First World War.
The Duke of Edinburgh planted a Remembrance Cross for the Graves
of Unknown British Soldiers from the First and Second World Wars,
followed by a Two Minute Silence to honour the memory of those
represented at the Field.
After marking the silence, the Duke of Edinburgh met veterans from
conflicts past and present as well as family members who have lost
loved ones in service of their country, including Mr Robert and
Priscilla Dicketts.
Mr and Mrs Dicketts tragically lost
their son Corporal Oliver Simon Dicketts of 1st Battalion The
Parachute Regiment, when the RAF Nimrod MR2 aircraft he was
travelling in crashed in Afghanistan in September 2006.
At the Field, Mr and Mrs Dicketts dedicated a cross to their son
and represented the Afghanistan plot during the Duke of Edinburgh's
walk around the Field.
"It's an honour for me to be asked to attend the Legion's Field
of Remembrance, and to dedicate a cross of remembrance in memory of
our son" Mrs Dicketts said.
The Royal British Legion's National President, Vice Admiral Peter
Wilkinson CB CVO said: "The Field of Remembrance is an important
part of the Legion's Remembrance calendar of events. It was an
honour to see so many serving and ex-Service people here today
paying their respects."
Each cross has a personal message from members of the public in
order to commemorate those men and women of the Armed Forces who
have died in conflict since 1914. The Westminster Abbey Field will
be open from today, Thursday 8 November until Sunday 18
November.
The First Field of Remembrance opened in 1928 in the grounds of
Westminster Abbey, London. This year there are five Fields of
Remembrance around the UK in Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh,
Gateshead, Westminster Abbey and Wootton Bassett. Click here for more
information about the Fields of Remembrance.