PEOPLE turned out in force in Great Yarmouth on Sunday to pay their respects and honour those who had lost their lives in the service of their country, at the Remembrance Day parade and service on Sunday.

Hundreds packed into the town’s Market Place and St George’s Park to watch former servicemen and women, the Royal British Legion, youth organisations and other groups march proudly to the St George’s Park war memorial – fittingly joined by troops from the A (Norfolk and Suffolk) Company, 3rd Battalion of the Royal Anglians.

As the final notes of the Last Post was sounded by a lone bugler, heads bowed and the park fell silent for two minutes as those attending remembered lost loved ones, relatives, friends, colleagues – and strangers, who had lost their lives in battle.

Team rector of Yarmouth, the Rev Chris Terry, led a short service and mayor Michael Jeal and MP Brandon Lewis laid wreaths at the memorial, while a number of borough councillors also attended the service.

Great Yarmouth Brass played hymns and the national anthem at the end of the service.

Following the half-hour service, many of those involved in the St George’s Park service then headed for the Far East Prisoners of War Association (FEPOW) memorial on Yarmouth seafront for another service.

FEPOW chaplain Pauline Simpson, from Neatishead, led the service in front of 100 onlookers and read a British soldier’s account of life in a Japanese PoW camp, particularly the horrors of dealing with diseases such as dysentery and Beri Beri disease.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat crews held their own remembrance service at the lifeboat station in Riverside Road, Gorleston. Their padre the Rev Albert Cadmore led the service, which was attended by 150 people.

The lifeboats then put to sea and scattered wreathes and flowers close to the south pier at Gorleston where more people had gathered to pay their respects and remember lost loved ones.

At Brush Quay in Gorleston more than 60 people attended a remembrance service for motor boat crews who rescued pilots and air crews from the sea during the second world war. The service was conducted by Yarmouth port chaplain the Rev Peter Paine.

John Morley, 65, of Baliol Road, Gorleston, was at St George’s Park and served with the 1st Royal Anglians during the 1960s.

He said: “I thought it was a good parade and a good crowd here today. The importance of remembering the armed forces’ sacrifices should never be forgotten and it was good to have the Royal Anglians, who have been serving in Afghanistan, joining us today.”

Bradwell veteran Michael Fairclough, 73, of Bunnewell Avenue, was in the Royal Navy between 1957 and 1966, serving at Plymouth, Mauritius and Australia.

He said: “I thought it was a lovely parade. It was a wonderful turnout and it was nice to see so many people here, not just remembering the past, but remembering the present becuase it is an ongoing situation in Afghanistan and there are boys being horrifically injured and families bereaved.

“It makes people think a little bit about what is going on.”

Bill Turnbull, 76, of Weston Rise, Caister served in the Royal Artillery between 1952 and 1954 and was out in the Middle East during the Suez crisis.

He said: “It is very important that people remember the sacrifices of the armed forces and I was pleased to see a number of youngsters that were there and also the band that led the parade was excellent.”

The FEPOW service was attended by 89-year-old Bert Major, chairman of the local FEPOW Assocation, who was himself taken prisoner of war while serving in the Cambridgeshire Regiment in Johor, Malaysia between 1938 and 1946.

The wheelchair-bound former serviceman, who will celebrate his 90th birthday tomorrow, said: “It is very important that the children and grandchildren and people of the future know of these things.

“We will never forget the sacrifices of the armed forces and our families support us in these things.”

A 40-strong crowd, including members of the Royal British Legion, attended a remembrance service at Gorleston Cemetery on Thursday, led by the Rev Linda Ricketts, minister for St Mary’s Church in Gorleston. On Sunday, a remembrance service was held at St Andrews Church in Gorleston.