Troops of residents marched into Greenhithe over the weekend to celebrate Greenhithe and Swanscombe Royal British Legion's (RBL) Armed Forces Day.

The event, which took place at the RBL building in London Road on June 28 was opened jointly by the Mayor of Dartford, Cllr Avtar Sandhu and the Mayor of Swanscombe and Greenhithe, Cllr Susan Butterfill, who arrived to the sound of local bagpipe group, The 1st Greenhithe Piping Club.

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Revellers were entertained by demonstrations from the Greenhithe Karate Club, The Sophie Young Dance Troupe and Swanscombe based Walk Tall.

The Stone (Dartford) Scout Group ran stalls in the building's car park alongside displays by Second World War re-enactment groups and the Dartford Men's Shed group.

D Day veteran 93-year-old Ernie Treagus joined the event and was given a rousing reception.

The highlight of the day proved to be a rendition of the Last Post played by Darren Riley and a two-minute silence followed by the bagpipe lament 'Flowers of the Forest'.

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Graham Mentor-Morris, treasurer of the Greenhithe and Swanscombe Royal British Legion said: "It actually went very very well.

"The highlight was the Last Post.

"There were a few tears in eyes which is unusual - it was very emotional.

"The Greenhithe and Swanscombe Royal British Legion continues to support the local community and it was great to see hundreds of local people ignore the weather forecasts, enjoy the Legion's Armed Forces Day and show real respect for the men and women serving this country both at home and abroad."

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The event raised more than £1,000 for the Royal British Legion.