BIKERS from all over the country roared into Brize Norton for a special ceremony.

Nearly 100 members of The Royal British Legion Riders’ Branch took part in a ride past at the town's Repatriation Memorial Garden before being presented with the Union flag in recognition of their support for the veterans’ organisation.

Riders and dignitaries then observed a two-minute silence and attended a service of remembrance to honour those who have fallen in conflict.

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West Oxfordshire district council's 'armed forces champion' Norman MacRae MBE said: “It is fantastic to see such support for the Royal British Legion from the bikers, many of whom are serving or former members of the armed forces.

Witney Gazette:

File photo of bikers taking part in a repatriation ceremony at Carterton. Picture: Desmond Brambley

“It was an honour to meet them and I know they will continue to literally fly the flag for the Legion and all serving personnel who continue to protect our country.”

The flag was presented in a frame with an engraved brass plaque commemorating the occasion.

Last November it was replaced with a new flag at the Memorial Garden which plays host to repatriation ceremonies as they travel from RAF Brize Norton to the John Radcliffe Hospital.

The flag is lowered to half-mast for repatriation ceremonies.

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The ceremony was also attended by Oxfordshire county chairman for the Royal British Legion Lynda Atkins and Bill Oddy, a group manager at West Oxfordshire District Council, who helped establish the Memorial Garden.

Simon Somerville, vice chairman of the Royal British Legion Riders Branch, said: “We have riders who have travelled here from Cornwall and the North because it is great honour to be given this flag.

“It just goes to show how highly regarded the Riders’ Branch is throughout the Royal British Legion.”

Witney Gazette:

File photo of a repatriation ceremony in Carterton. Picture: Mark Hemsworth

The bodies of armed forces service personnel who die on active service overseas have been been flown into Brize Norton and then travelled through Carterton since 2011.

Repatriations previously flew into RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire and went through Wootton Bassett from 2007 until 2011.

In the first year in Oxfordshire, 41 servicemen and women were repatriated into Brize Norton, many of whom had died in Iraq and Afghanistan.