THOUSANDS of people filled Swindon’s town centre to pay their respects to the fallen yesterday.

Veterans donned their medals while current serving members and young cadets gathered around the Cenotaph to join the remembrance service and march along Commercial Road.

The large crowd sang traditional hymns, bowed their heads in prayer, fell silent for two minutes as the clock above the former town hall struck 11, and said as one “we will remember them” during the readings.

Toddlers balanced on their parents’ heads to see above the masses and get a good view of the solemn spectacle.

Town dignitaries and military representatives laid wreaths at the base of the memorial, then loud applause filled the air as many members of the armed forces marched away in perfectly-synchronised steps.

After the service ended, the crowd scattered and some stayed to leave their own wreaths and poppy-adorned crosses.

Andy Curtis from Oakhurst brought his wife and children along.

He said: “It was amazing. It’s nice to see the crowds again and everyone paying their respects. My children loved it and it was great for them to learn what remembrance is about.

“We would not be the country we are now if not for the people who sacrificed themselves all those years ago and the people who are in the military now.”

Swindon’s Royal British Legion chair Graham Jackson said: “The service was very well-attended. We had everyone from the smallest cadets to the oldest servicemen and women.

“Last year’s service had to be much smaller so we were hoping and expecting a bigger turnout this time, and were proved right.”

Several smaller ceremonies were held at parishes, towns and villages around the borough and on its outskirts. Wroughton welcomed D-Day veteran Peter Newton as a guest of honour to its service.

After joining the army in 1940, he became a lieutenant in the Royal Norfolk Regiment and was in one of the first two British infantry divisions to land on the shores of Normandy in 1944 before thousands of other troops followed.

He said: “We came over on a liner, then they dropped the assault craft down and we arrived two miles out. We landed at the same time as a couple of US and Canadian divisions and stormed Sword Beach.

“There was a lot of opposition from the Germans, who were hunkered down at the top, and we had to fight our way through.

“We lost a lot of men but I was fortunate and we paved the way for the rest of the army.”

After being injured on July 13, he was sent home to recover for five months in hospital, then trained as a chartered engineer before serving in the Territorial Army as a captain for 10 years.

Peter enjoyed the village’s remembrance service, which ended with a reception at the Wroughton Club and singers performing vintage classics.

He said: “I was very impressed by the reception and thought the service was excellent, quite amazing.”