THE bravery and sacrifices of people from Somerset during the First World War were remembered during a service at St Mary Magdalene Church in Taunton this afternoon.

Somerset County Council chairman, Cllr David Fothergill, led a procession of dignitaries to the church, starting from the Old Municipal Buildings in Corporation Street.

Speaking before the service, Cllr Fothergill said: “Somerset and our associated regiments lost almost 11,000 men and women in the Great War and we will be remembering the ultimate sacrifice they made on behalf of the people of both this country and the occupied territories of Europe. They are heroes who we should never forget.”

The bells of St Mary’s tolled during the procession, before the 2.30pm service, which included a live display of names of the fallen, together with their villages and towns.

There was also a minute’s silence, the lighting of a candle of peace and the laying of a wreath in Soldiers’ Corner.