In his first Remembrance Sunday speech as monarch, King Charles will honour the armed forces for their extraordinary sacrifice and bravery today.
The annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony was of utmost importance to his late mother the Queen during her 70-year reign.
She missed the event only a handful of times, mainly due to medical reasons.
Today, His Majesty will lay a wreath at the Cenotaph in London, where there will be a March Past attended by more than 10,000 veterans.
And last night, he attended the Royal British Legion’s annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the Queen Consort and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The monarch’s role as head of the armed forces means a great deal to veterans across Britain, and the loss of the Queen will be keenly felt this year.
Here, we meet some of those comrades who will join the King to say thank you…
Charles will do country and its veterans proud
James Fenton was devastated by the death of the Queen, just months after she sent him a celebratory birthday card when he turned 100 in April.
He served in the Royal Artillery in India, Malaysia and Burma from 1942-45 and attended the Festival of Remembrance in London last night.
James, who lives in Port Erin on the Isle of Man, says: “It meant so much to me to receive her letter. I have lived through five monarchs but she has been a particular mainstay throughout my life. But I think King Charles is doing a fantastic job and will do this country and the veterans proud.”
He enlisted into the Army when he was 20 and was sent to India before fighting the Japanese in Burma, now Myanmar, playing an integral role in what is now known as the ‘Forgotten Army’ – the men who fought outside Europe.
James, who is originally from Lancashire, recalls: “As millions celebrated VE Day in London, with Winston Churchill declaring victory, we were still being shelled.”
The accomplished painter and poet would send regular letters and photographs of his experiences back home to his parents, but they would take three weeks to arrive.
But James, who went on to open his own photography studio with his late wife Lilian, admits keeping many of his worst experiences from his mum and dad.
He recalls watching one comrade drown and many of his friends suffer from malaria.
He has only recently been able to open up about his experiences, but says: “My brother Harry never got over the war.
“It’s absolutely devastating to me to see Europe once again at war with the conflict that’s happening in Ukraine.
“I just hope we can learn from history and see war is never the answer.”
You couldn't be afraid, you had to get on with the job
Brenda Waring, 93, will be proudly marching past the Cenotaph for the first time today as the oldest veteran from her nursing corps.
Brenda, who lives in Kent, served as a nurse with the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps during the Malayan War of Independence from 1952-57.
Brenda, who will be cheered on by her daughters Jane, 61, and Louise, 57, in the crowd, says: “I was so proud of being in the Army. I loved it so much.
“It will mean everything to take part in the march.”
Brenda left Yorkshire to join the Army aged 21, boarding the HMS Windrush for a three-week journey across the Suez Canal to her first post in Singapore.
She says: “I always wanted to be a nurse and to help people but I knew I wanted something more and to go abroad.
“I never thought about marriage and settling down – I wanted to get out there and do something with my life.”
Having initially joined the QA as a lieutenant, Brenda climbed the ranks to captain.
She says: “You did everything you could to save the patient. You couldn’t feel frightened, you just had to get on with the job.”
After returning to London in 1957, Brenda met her late husband Basil and worked as a casualty nurse for 25 years – but she has never forgotten her time with the QA.
Brenda says: “It was hard work but they were the happiest years of my life. It is terribly important to remember and come together.”
It's not just about two world wars
Teenager Erin Nicholls, 16, has grown up with no memories of her father, Lance Corporal Ross Nicholls, who was killed in an Afghan ambush when she was just 12 weeks old.
She and her older brother Cameron will march today in his memory.
LCpl Nicholls was serving with the Household Cavalry when he was killed in 2006, aged 27.
His proud children will be marching with Scotty’s – a charity that supports bereaved military children.
Londoner Erin says: “Scotty’s have given me a great amount of support in so many ways.
“People often forget that remembrance is not just about World War One and World War Two.”
The time to remember old friends
After six weeks in Afghanistan as a machine gunner, David Atkin, 33, broke his back.
The support of the RAF Regiment Association, who he is marching with today, got him through his darkest moments.
David, from Bridlington, East Yorks, who now works as a Deputy Regional Operations Manager at the Military Academy, says: “While it was devastating for me for my military career to get cut short, I lost friends in Afghanistan. Remembrance Sunday is that one time of the year I can forget about my own problems and focus on them.
“I wouldn’t be where I am today without the support of the RAF Regiment Association.”
