Nation Celebrates Third Armed Forces Day

Celebrations have been held around the country to commemorate the work of British servicemen and women on the third Armed Forces Day.

All over Britain, celebrations were held in honour of the nation's servicemen and women, as people showed their support and gratitude for the forces.

Around 100,000 descended upon Edinburgh, which was this year's official host city, to enjoy a packed schedule of activities.

Events got under way as 90 motorcyclists, from the Royal British Legion Scotland Riders Branch, drove down the Royal Mile to celebrate the Legion's 90th anniversary.

A moment of silence was held at the Falklands Memorial Garden in Princes Street Gardens, as members of the South Atlantic Medal Association laid a wreath, followed by a reading of the Falklands Prayer.

The highlight of the day came as 2,500 military personnel made their way down the Royal Mile from Edinburgh Castle's Esplanade to Holyrood Park.

Outside the Scottish Parliament building, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall stood to watch the parade.

They were joined by Prime Minister David Cameron, Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore and Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox.

The prince stood on a podium and saluted every member of the Armed Forces to pass him.

Around 500 servicemen and women marched first, followed by 2,000 veterans and cadets.

At a ceremony of thanks, the Drumhead Service, the head of the Ministry of Defence, General Sir David Richards, said: "I know the servicemen and women that I have the privilege of leading feel the same way as I do. We are immensely proud to service this country."

Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: "It is heart-warming to see the crowds here at the national event and to watch the spectacular displays that have been organised."

The weekend-long programme of events celebrating the Armed Forces started on Friday when thousands of visitors stepped on board the Royal Navy ship HMS Portland, which will be berthed at Edinburgh's Leith Docks until Sunday.

The Red Arrows aerial display team gave their first full performance in the city for 23 years, wowing crowds with a display over the Firth of Forth.

Squadron leader Ben Murphy said being involved in the events was "massively important".

He said: "Most of us have come from operational backgrounds having served in Afghanistan and Iraq and other theatres.

"For us to be able to come up here and participate in these types of events is a massive honour. It's important, I think, to recognise the sacrifices all those service people have made and if we can be a part of that then we're extremely proud."

The celebrations came after Sky News obtained figures apparently showing there would be compulsory redundancies across the forces.

A total of 105 colonels have applied to be part of the early retirement scheme imposed by the cutbacks - yet there are only 25 posts that need to be lost.

There will be four rounds of redundancies for the Armed Forces and while these colonels may not wish to stay on, it seems many of the lower ranks do.

The Army needs to lose 1,000 positions but only 869 have applied to leave and the Air Force needs to cut 1,100 jobs and so far, only 620 have volunteered.

The Navy will be worst hit - only 800 have offered to go early when 1,600 are required by the defence cuts.