Bishop's Stortford's Royal British Legion to hold Operation Banner commemoration

The Bishop's Stortford branch of the Royal British Legion will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the deployment of troops on the streets of Northern Ireland with a service at the town's war memorial.

The military campaign, codenamed Operation Banner, began on August 14, 1969 in response to growing sectarian unrest.

In total, 1,441 UK Armed Forces personnel died as a result of operations in Northern Ireland or paramilitary actions in other countries. Their names are listed on the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The Royal British Legion will host a commemorative event at the arboretum at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, on Wednesday August 14 to mark the anniversary.

The Bishop's Stortford branch will hold a short service at the war memorial in Castle Gardens on Sunday August 18 at 11am.

Operation Banner ended on July 31, 2007. Over almost four decades, the General Service Medal (Northern Ireland) was awarded to more than 300,000 servicemen and women.