Duchess of Gloucester plants cross at Field of Remembrance

BBC One West reported that the Field of Remembrance opened at the National Remembrance Gardens in Staffordshire with 30,000 handwritten tributes. The channel said each tribute carried a personal message of thanks for a life of service, and that the installation is organised by the Royal British Legion to raise funds for its Poppy Appeal. According to BBC One West, the field has been a fixture at the gardens since 2016.

In its report, BBC One West focused on Clive Jones, a former Welsh Guardsman from Market Drayton in Shropshire, who laid a tribute. It said Mr Jones was blinded in an assault on his 26th birthday, ending his military career, and that the Royal British Legion helped him adjust to civilian life through its Battle Back programme at Lilleshall. He said the field was 'phenomenal' and 'emotional', and that laying a tribute made him think of those he had lost from his regiment.

BBC One West reported that the tributes span the generations, noting that it is 35 years since the end of the Gulf War and 15 years since the end of combat operations in Iraq. The channel said the impact of conflict still casts a long shadow. According to BBC One West, the day concluded with a service allowing people to reflect on lives lost and the impact on those left behind.

In a later broadcast, BBC One West reported that the Duchess of Gloucester planted a cross in Westminster Abbey's Field of Remembrance to honour members of the armed forces who lost their lives. She attended on behalf of the Queen.

BBC One West closed its report with the words: 'At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.' It also said the weight of loss is always felt keenly there, but the word that comes up time and again is simply thank you.