When a young person of seventeen-and-a-half can be sent on active service, then veterans can be surprisingly young these days, he said. We have made today a link between the generations, as young and old have gathered here and made a commitment togeth

When a young person of seventeen-and-a-half can be sent on active service, then veterans can be surprisingly young these days," he said.

"We have made today a link between the generations, as young and old have gathered here and made a commitment together for a better world.

"Whatever our beliefs, may we learn to work together for a better world: whatever our beliefs may we learn to work together for the sake of future generations," he said.

The wreath laying was led by the Mayor of Royston, Cllr Lynn Berry, with Cllr Nigel Brook, vice-chairman of Herts County Council, Cllr F John Smith, and Lt Col Nigel Smith, commanding officer of the Army Training Regiment at Bassingbourn Barracks.

This year the parade was led by three Second World War vehicles as the Bassingbourn-based Minden Band was not available because of a tour of duty in Germany.

n In Buntingford, Oliver Heald, MP for North-east Herts, led the wreath-laying at the war memorial, along with the Mayor of Buntingford, Cllr John Noades, and Cllr Sanjit Basra.

Peter Brannegan, chairman of the Buntingford branch of the Royal British Legion, said: "Rather than thinking of the First World War soldiers who are long gone, but not forgotten, it's our current servicemen and women that we are also concerned about."

- More than £1,400 was raised from a Poppy Appeal auction at the Royston branch of the Royal British Legion after the parade on Sunday.

- A GRANT of £7,000 has been given to Royston Town Council to help meet the cost of refurbishment work on the war memorial.

The grant has come from English Heritage in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation as part of a £100,000 nationwide scheme to pay for repair projects.

Work on the Royston war memorial in Melbourn Street is expected to cost a total of £14,000.

The war memorial was erected in 1922 to commemorate 166 men who were killed in the First World War, and 25 names were added after the Second World War.

English Heritage awarded a grant of £5,000 to the town council in 2001 to help pay for conservation work on the war memorial.