Remembering casualties of war.A SPECIAL service to remember the dead and the injured from a Midland infantry battalion which lost nine men and suffered 20 serious injuries during their tour of duty in Afghanistan was held in Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, originally the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery (closed in 1539) in London. One of England's most important Gothic structures, it is also a national shrine. The first church on the site is believed to date from early in the 7th cent. .Nine memorial candles were carried by men of the 2nd Battalion, the Mercian Regiment The Mercian Regiment is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry - it is formed of three regular battalions, plus , (Worcesters and Foresters) from the Grave of the Unknown Warrior to the High Altar of Westminster Abbey to symbolise the dead during the ceremony. The service also heard readings, hymns and the sounding of the Last Post, as well as prayers both for the dead and injured, their bereaved families and for the work of the wider Armed Forces. The battalion took part in heavy fighting during their six-month tour in Helmand Province from March to October this year. The battalion, formerly known as 1st Battalion the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment (29th/45th Foot) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was formed in 1970 through the amalgamation of two other regiments: CAPTION(S): POIGNANT... candles were carried by men of the 2nd Battalion at a special Westminster Abbey service. |
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