HUNDREDS of motorcyclists made the annual ride from Lyneham to Brize Norton in memory of those who lost their lives in recent conflicts.

The Ride of Respect was set up nine years ago to commemorate the fallen and to pay tribute to the Wiltshire communities that lined the roads to greet the coffins of the servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Founder Julia Stevenson said: “It was terrible to see our boys coming back and repatriated. We just came down on behalf of the rest of the country.

“Many bikers are ex-forces and they have children in the forces. The ride means so much to us.”

More than 22,000 bikers turned out for that first ride in 2011: “I felt humbled to see so many people cared about our boys in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bikers hadn’t forgotten them and we never will.”

Motorcyclists from across the country descended on the old runway at MOD Lyneham on Sunday morning. The ride was expected to raise thousands of pounds for charity Forgotten Veterans UK.

They were thanked by Maj Dave Barbieri of the REME Arms School before they set off for RAF Brize Norton. Maj Barbieri, a soldier of almost three decades’ experience, said: “It’s fantastic to see the British public getting behind us and supporting the soldiers who are struggling.”

Royal Navy veteran Whiskey Walker MBE, 57, said he was riding to “show our respect to people who have paid the ultimate price, to show that they’ll never be forgotten”.

Mark Drewell, 49, a former fusilier, said he had friends whose brother had been brought from Lyneham through Royal Wootton Bassett in a coffin. “It means a lot,” he said of taking part in the ride.