A CROWD of 50 ex-servicemen and well-wishers last night welcomed a cavalcade carrying a wreath into Carterton as part of its UK tour.

The ‘Wreath of Respect’ passed through the town as part of the Royal British Legion’s efforts to mark 100 years since the First World War started.

There was a service in the war memorial garden, in Monahan Way, before it was due to leave at about 7am today.

Organiser and former Gunner in the Parachute Regiment, Dougie Bancroft, said: “It has been absolutely amazing in Carterton. There were the standards there from the Royal British Legion and there was a wonderful service.”

The stop in Carterton is part of a 1,250-mile journey across the UK in which the steel wreath has been ferried by motorcyclists. It left the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire, on August 16 and is due to end its tour there today after already visiting Ely, Catterick, Glasgow, Liverpool and Cardiff.

The tour is also raising money for the Royal British Legion.

Carterton town major Lynn Little said: “It was very moving as the service was in the repatriation garden. It was in memory of the First World War, the Second World War and as it was in the garden, we thought about those who have been repatriated more recently too.”

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