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Westminster Abbey memorial unveiled

The Princess Royal has unveiled a plaque to commemorate the 16,000 servicemen and women who have died in armed conflict or through terrorism since the Second World War. Princess Anne met the family of Senior Aircraftman Gary Thompson, who became the oldest serviceman killed in the Afghanistan conflict when he died earlier this year aged 51. The iron plaque in Westminster Abbey's South Cloister is part of the Armed Forces Memorial, which includes the National Remembrance Arboretum near Lichfield opened earlier this year by the Queen. The words of the dedication inscribed on the plaque have been allowed to rust and made deliberately difficult to read in order to encourage people to spend time thinking about those who died. After the unveiling there was a short service in the Abbey, during which both Princess Anne and a member of SAC Thompson's family read lessons. Princess Anne met the family in the cloister after the service.

ITN | October 29, 2008Watch more videos from ITN

Tags:. .war. .second. .family. .includes. .national









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