National Armed Forces Week begins with service

Armed Forces Week is an annual event which celebrates the people who serve, or who have served, the country

National Armed Forces Week was launched in Kent on Monday with the raising of the flag and prayers for veterans and currently serving military personnel.

About 60 people gathered outside the Guildhall in Sandwich to hear Father Sebastian Hamilton, rector of St Clements Church, lead a short service.

The event was organised by Dover District Council, which adopted the Armed Forces Covenant to support former service personnel in their rehabilitation and in the workplace.

Veteran Glen Craddock, who promotes the Armed Forces Covenant at Southeastern Railway, said: "We offer all veterans who apply for a job an interview so that they can sell themselves and are not just one in a pile of emails."

He added: "When you sign that line you don't know what is coming next and that's where we are at this moment. It's a very volatile time."

Armed Forces Week is an annual event which celebrates the people who serve, or who have served, their country.

Veteran Christopher Russell was commandant of The Duke Of York's Royal Military School in Dover.

He said: "We are living in the most difficult times I have ever seen and if I was still serving I would hope that the population at large would see how important it was to support the armed services."

There will be an Armed Forces Week parade in Ramsgate on Saturday, which starts at the Sailors' Church in Military Road at 10:40 BST.