Wokingham gathered to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D Day landings this morning.
The ceremony- which took place in the Annexe War Memorial room of Wokingham Town Hall – saw former president of Wokingham Royal British Legion John Patey lay a wreath in remembrance of the troops.
The retired soldier left the army in 1963 at which time he joined the Royal British Legion. He said: “I am absolutely delighted to stand here today with my medals on to say a big thank you to all those guys who laid down their lives so that we and Europe could be free. I feel so proud.”
He added: “The things that the British Legion do are absolutely wonderful. Not just for the guys that we’ve lost, but for their relatives and grandchildren.”
Deputy Town Mayor Councillor Tony Lack also read an epigraph written by English poet John Maxwell Edmonds:
‘When you go home, tell them of us and say,
For your tomorrows these gave their today.’
This is one of the hundreds of D Day memorial events taking place across the country today.
The Royal British Legion are also making collections for the Poppy Appeal outside Waitrose in Wokingham until 6pm today.