HUNDREDS of people gathered to mark a century since the end of the First World War.

The Festival of Remembrance took place in Gheluvelt Park in Worcester on Saturday, a commemoration attended by people of all ages, including veterans of previous conflicts and dignitaries from across the county.

The regimental band of the Grenadier Guards led the standards and took part in a Drumhead Service, a religious ceremony conducted in the field during conflict and in peacetime. The drums were carefully stacked and draped with the Colours of the Mercian Regiment, the Union flag and the county standard of the Royal British Legion to create a makeshift altar. Ceramic poppies from the Tower of London’s Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red also formed part of the poignant ceremony.

The welcome was led by the Right Reverend Graham Usher, Bishop of Dudley, who said: “We are here in the presence of God to remember with thanksgiving and sorrow those lives, in world wars and conflicts past and present, that have been given and taken away in the cause of justice and freedom; to pray for all who in bereavement, disability and pain, continue to suffer the consequences of fighting and terror, and for the British Legion in its ministry of care and support for them.”

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick Holcroft, Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, read from the gospel of John. Readings also followed from Malik Fayaz, independent Islamic faith and cultural consultant, who spoke of the sacrifices made by Indian Muslim soldiers of the British Empire and from Dr Umesh Udeshi with a retelling of the ancient epic the Mahabharata.

Kate Emsley read out her award winning poem, ‘Hopefully’, which commemorates the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

An address was made by Reverend Canon Dr Georgina Byrne.

Ceramic poppies and crosses of remembrance were planted as the band played Nimrod from The Enigma Variations by Sir Edward Elgar.

The ceremony contained the hymn Jerusalem, the exhortation by David Waldron, chairman of the Royal British Legion, the Last Post, "I Vow to Thee My Country" and the National Anthem.

Among those to attend were Worcester MP Robin Walker and police and crime commissioner John Campion.

Veteran Charles Boulton, aged 96, of Worcester who was a sergeant in the Royal Artillery during the Normandy Landings in the Second World War said: “I thought I would come and listen to the band. It’s nice to come and see the old soldiers. There’s not many of us left I’m afraid.”