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04/08/2004
WW1 veterans commemorate war declaration
Four WW1 veterans aged between 103 and 108 have attended a special service of remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph in London today to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the start of the Great War.
The service of remembrance, led by the veterans, marked the start of a day of events held in recognition of the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914.
This was first time that the anniversary marking the start of the First World War has been formally commemorated – and it is thought that it will be the last time veterans are likely to attend any such event in the future.
The veterans who attended the ceremony were: Henry Allingham, 108, from Eastbourne, East Sussex; Fred Lloyd, 106, from Uckfield, East Sussex; John Oborne, 104, from Porthcawl, Mid-Glamorgan; and William Stone, 103, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
After the service, the four men were presented with Veterans' Badges by Veterans Minister Ivor Caplin. They were also each given a bottle of Campaign Ale, brewed to the 1914 recipe, and a copy of a national newspaper dated 5th August 1914 featuring the headline 'Outbreak of War'.
The veterans then attended a luncheon in their honour.
Ivor Caplin, Minister for Veterans, said: "I am honoured to be here today with these remarkable gentlemen and to lay a wreath in memory of those who fell in the Great War.
"Without those who fought, the world would be a very different place today. We have much to thank them for and we owe them an immeasurable debt of gratitude."
(gmcg)
The service of remembrance, led by the veterans, marked the start of a day of events held in recognition of the outbreak of war on 4 August 1914.
This was first time that the anniversary marking the start of the First World War has been formally commemorated – and it is thought that it will be the last time veterans are likely to attend any such event in the future.
The veterans who attended the ceremony were: Henry Allingham, 108, from Eastbourne, East Sussex; Fred Lloyd, 106, from Uckfield, East Sussex; John Oborne, 104, from Porthcawl, Mid-Glamorgan; and William Stone, 103, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
After the service, the four men were presented with Veterans' Badges by Veterans Minister Ivor Caplin. They were also each given a bottle of Campaign Ale, brewed to the 1914 recipe, and a copy of a national newspaper dated 5th August 1914 featuring the headline 'Outbreak of War'.
The veterans then attended a luncheon in their honour.
Ivor Caplin, Minister for Veterans, said: "I am honoured to be here today with these remarkable gentlemen and to lay a wreath in memory of those who fell in the Great War.
"Without those who fought, the world would be a very different place today. We have much to thank them for and we owe them an immeasurable debt of gratitude."
(gmcg)
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