THE importance of Remembrance Day and the tragedy of war were brought sharply into focus yesterday in Wootton Bassett with the news that five more servicemen had been killed in Afghanistan.

The town that has become a byword for solemn homecomings witnessed the 200th repatriation last week.

The news that five more soldiers had been killed will add further poignancy to Remembrance Day on Sunday.

The servicemen were shot down by what the Government was calling a “rogue” policeman on Tuesday after the man was trained by British forces in Helmand.

The gunman apparently fired without warning, then fled, after injuring a further six UK servicemen.

Today, the body of staff sergeant Olaf Schmid, who died on Saturday after a bomb exploded in the Sangin region of Helmand Province, will be repatriated to RAF Lyneham. He was killed while trying to defuse a bomb.

The coffins of the five men are expected to arrive in Wootton Bassett next Thursday for repatriation.

It will happen days after thousands gather throughout Swindon to remember the sacrifices of members of the armed forces – especially those from the First and Second World War.

Opinion yesterday was divided over the justification behind the Afghanistan war.

During a straw poll of Wootton Bassett’s High Street, residents were vocal about their thoughts on the war which has become increasingly controversial since it first began on October 7, 2001.

Stephen Richards, 64, a retired farmer from Broad Town, said the incident had made him reconsider his views on the conflict.

He said: “It does make you think what we’re doing out there in the first place.

“It’s supposed to be about fighting terrorism but I am no longer sure if it is working – especially after what happened on Tuesday – the police officer that killed them was trained by our boys.

“The longer it goes on the more I wonder if it’s worth it – sometimes it seems as though it is turning into America’s Vietnam.”

Richard Griffiths, 83, a former Royal Marine, from the Mulberries, in Wootton Bassett, said he thought the job needed to be completed before soldiers started exiting the country.

He said: “If the Army departs too early a lot more pain than five soldiers will be felt by this country.

“We are members of Nato therefore we must honour our commitment.

“But I do think this remembrance day will be especially poignant with these deaths so soon before.”

And although some like Graham Sly, a 75-year-old, who lives just outside Wootton Bassett, believes the military should leave the country immediately others think that a complete review of the British situation in Afghanistan needs to be conducted.

“There needs to be a review about how far and how much support we can give the Army – we must make a decision,” said Mike Byrne, 44, an engineer from Brooklands, in the town.