HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opens Westminster Abbey Field of Remembrance
10 November 2011
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh opened the 83rd 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 World War I.
The Duke of Edinburgh laid a Remembrance Cross for the Graves of Unknown British Soldiers from the First and Second World Wars, followed by a Two Minutes' 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, including Legion beneficiary Gareth Turkington, whose brother Lt Neal Turkington of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles was killed just before his 27th birthday in Afghanistan in July 2010.
At the Field, Mr
Turkington dedicated a cross to his brother who was shot alongside
his two comrades, Major James Bowman and Sergeant Arjun Purja Pun
in Helmand Province, 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 to my brother, Neal," Mr Turkington said.
"The Legion has been absolutely brilliant throughout the inquest process and provided valuable support to my family and I."
The Legion's independent Inquest Advice legal team advised the Turkington family during the Inquest into Neal's death.
The Royal British Legion's National President, Sir John Kiszely KCB MC 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 10th November until Sunday 20th 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, Westminster Abbey and Wootton Bassett. Click here for more information on visiting the Fields of Remembrance.
The Legion, through its Independent Inquest Advice service, provides expert legal advice and support to bereaved Armed Forces families going through the painful inquest process into their loved ones' deaths.
