Photo gallery: Honiton Armed Forces Day

Fantastic support for annual event.

Honiton paid tribute to members of the armed forces last weekend.

Organisers of the town’s annual Armed Forces Day say they received a “fantastic” response from the public.

Mayor Vernon Whitlock told crowds gathered in High Street on Saturday: “It is easy here, in a market town in the West Country, to forget that we are living our lives free from terrorism and extremism largely because of the work of our armed services.

“It is important for us to recognise the work that they are doing right now in Afghanistan and elsewhere.”

Councillor Whitlock went on to praise the Honiton-based Baton charity, the Solders, Sailors and Air Force Association and the Royal British Legion for the work they do to support service personnel and their families.

“It is fitting that we are here, beside our town’s war memorial to those who have gone before, but it is important to recognise that the work of the armed forces continues,” he added.

Margaret Lewis, curator of Allhallows Museum, is a member of the event’s organising committee. She told the Midweek Herald: “We had brilliant support from the whole community and especially the Air Training Corps and Army and St John cadets, who are a real credit to Honiton and their families.”

More than 80 people took part in a 24-hour vigil beside the town’s war memorial, including two members of the Coldstream Guards, who, in their red tunics and bearskins, cut a dash in High Street.

Next year’s Armed Forces Day events will take place on June 30.

The amount raised for charity this year will not be known until some time next week.