Queen pays tribute to lost troops

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The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall joined her at the ceremony for the new National Armed Forces Memorial, which pays tribute to members of the UK's Armed Forces killed on duty or as a result of terrorist action since 1948.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, MPs and service personnel watched as the royal party toured the memorial and spoke with families of those whose names appear or are about to be carved onto the memorial's Portland stone walls. The Queen paused to examine the name of her cousin, Earl Mountbatten, who was killed by a Provisional IRA bomb in Ireland in 1979.

There are almost 16,000 names carved on the memorial, at the National Memorial Arboretum, in Alrewas, Staffordshire, with space for 15,000 more. It includes those who have died in Palestine, Korea, Malaysia, the Falklands, Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland.

Almost £7 million has been donated by the public to construct the memorial, but a further £1 million must be raised to ensure it can be maintained.

During the service, family and friends of some of those killed in conflict read a tribute to their loved ones.

Nine-year-old Georgina Chapman, whose father, Darren Chapman, was killed in Iraq in May last year, read out a letter she had written for her "Daddy up in heaven". She said: "I am having a very nice time at school with all my friends."

Opening the ceremony, Vice-Admiral Sir John Dunt, chairman of the Armed Forces Memorial Trustees, said: "I hope that those who have been bereaved and colleagues of those whose names are engraved find this a fitting place to remember and reflect.

"There will be sorrow for family and friends who come here, but I hope they will also be uplifted and proud - proud that these men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice have done so by serving their country."

In a statement published in the ceremony's programme, Prince Charles said: "The scale of this memorial is a poignant reminder to us all of the continuing cost of the democracy and freedom we enjoy, as well as the constant sacrifices being made on our behalf around the world."