This Remembrance Sunday, for the seventh consecutive year as MP for Northampton North, I had the highest honour of laying a wreath of Poppies at the Northampton War Memorial in honour of the Fallen.
It is always extremely poignant to remember those in all conflicts since World War One who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom today.
After a church service at All Saints Church I watched a parade pass the Guildhall with the Lord Lieutenant, High Sheriff and Mayor of Northampton. We saw the Northampton branches of the Army Reserves, Police, Sea Cadets, St John’s Ambulance and many other organisations. It was good to see so many people at the service and parade paying their respects.
Afterwards I attended the annual Curry Lunch at the Army Reserves Training Centre in Clare Street, and met many veterans and currently serving military personnel from the regular Army and Reserves.
This Remembrance Sunday marks the 100 year anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, 1916, which took place in the valley of the River Somme and was the biggest battle of the First World War and the most devastating for human life lost in history. There were hundreds of thousands of casualties.
It is also 100 years since the Battle of Jutland which unfolded on the North Sea and was the single largest naval battle in the war and the only full-scale clash of battleships.