AS the bell tolled in Wootton Bassett yesterday for the 100th repatriation, hundreds of people gathered to pay their silent respects to the fallen war heroes.

Rifleman Andrew Fentiman, 23, of 7th Battalion The Rifles, and Corporal Loren Marlton-Thomas, 28, of 33 Engineer Regiment, died in separate incidents in Helmand Province in Afghanistan on Sunday and were brought home.

Town clerk Johnathan Bourne said: “It is not just that it is the 100th repatriation which is important, as they are all important. We would pay the same respects to the 100th as to the first and we will continue to do so.”

He acknowledged it was shocking the number of repatriations through the town had reached 100.

This year alone 98 soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan and they have all been honoured by the people of Wootton Bassett.

Over the past two-and-a-half years the town has become the focus for the nation’s mourning of the deaths of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

People have appeared along the route to pay their respects since the bodies of British service personnel began being brought home through RAF Lyneham in April 2007.

The Royal British Legion’s national president, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely, said: “No one organised it, no one requested it.

“It happened because it was the right thing to do, and our members stood ready to give these fallen heroes the honour they so richly deserve.”

Rifleman Fentiman, from Cambridge, was killed a fortnight after saying he was “still waiting” for promised new body armour and helmets. The Territorial Army soldier, who volunteered to serve in Afghanistan to pursue his dream of becoming an officer in the regular military, was shot while on a foot patrol near Sangin in Helmand.

Two weeks earlier the soldier had posted an internet blog in which he wrote: “We are still waiting on these new body armour and helmets that were promised to us.”

The Ministry of Defence said there was “no reason to believe” that the new armour would have saved the young soldier’s life.

Bomb disposal expert Cpl Marlton-Thomas was killed by an improvised explosive device while clearing a route in Gereshk in Helmand.

He grew up in Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire, and lived with his wife Nicola in Braintree, Essex.

The soldier’s senior officers paid tribute to his courage in carrying out one of the most dangerous jobs for UK troops in Afghanistan.

His wife said: “He did the job he loved and paid the ultimate price for his friends, comrades and country.

“We are proud to say we knew and loved him. A true hero in our eyes – you may be gone but you will never ever be forgotten.”

Cpl Marlton-Thomas's younger brother, a senior footman to the Queen, took part in the traditional procession before the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday despite his grief.

The Queen personally offered Fraser Marlton-Thomas, 25, words of comfort after he learnt the tragic news.

A total of 235 UK troops have died since the mission in Afghanistan began in October 2001, with 98 deaths this year alone.