ON the eve of the First World War, the then foreign secretary Sir Edward Grey said: “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime”.

So it was poignant that last night between 10pm and 11pm, lights were switched off across Oxfordshire and the country.

In a fitting tribute single candles were lit in homes and churches to mark exactly 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War.

It is precisely because of the actions of our troops a century ago that we saw the lights lit again. Since then our brave men and women have continued to fight for the life we should be so grateful for.

Unlike the candles our gratitude to them must never fade.