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Parade honours soldiers who fought in 2003 Iraq war

Jules Hyam & Maisie Lillywhite
BBC News, Gloucestershire
BBC Four men and a woman stand with military flags in their uniform in Cheltenham town centre on a sunny dayBBC
Those who were deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Telic in 2003 were remembered at the march

The organiser of a parade to honour those who fought in the second Iraq War said the conflict "must be remembered".

The war began on 19 March 2003, and although it only took a few weeks to remove president Saddam Hussein from power, coalition soldiers remained in the country until May 2011.

Roy Roberts, retired RAF Wing Commander, organised the parade in Cheltenham on Wednesday morning to honour those deployed to the region to Iraq under Operation Telic.

He said the purpose of the parade, which involved the laying of poppy wreaths, was to "remind and remember".

An old man with short grey hair dressed in a military suit with a military beret and a lot of military and Royal British Legion pins - including the poppy - on his blazer. He is stood on a promenade in a regency town centre on a sunny day.
Mr Roberts helped to organise the parade
A rector reads a sermon at a war parade, as men and women in military uniform stand and listen. A double decker bus can be seen passing behind them in a town centre and there are trees and shops lining the road. It is a sunny day.
Richard Coombs, Cheltenham's rector, was at the parade, as were veterans and other military personnel

The parade began at 11:00 GMT and poppy wreaths were laid at Cheltenham War Memorial on the Promenade.

Military veterans attended the event, as did Richard Coombs the rector of Cheltenham.

Three poppy wreaths, each with Royal British Legion symbols in the middle, lay at the bottom of a war memorial in a town centre on a sunny day. They have handwritten "In Remembrance" notes on them.
Wreaths of poppies were laid at Cheltenham's war memorial, honouring those who were part of Operation Telic
Men and women in military uniform, some holding poppy wreaths, gather to pay their respects at a war parade. An old man is standing at a microphone, talking.
The parade took place on Cheltenham's Promenade

There were 179 UK casualties in the conflict, with hundreds more soldiers "injured in body and mind", Mr Roberts, who is chair of Cheltenham's Royal British Legion, said.

"The focus at the moment, rightly so, is on the 80th anniversaries of VE Day in May and VJ Day in August," he said.

"But we wanted to remind and remember the current generation serving and veteran men and women and their service.

"The conflicts have continued virtually every day since the Second World War and we've got people who are alive today who are suffering from the consequences of the more recent conflicts."

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