AGAINST a backdrop of traffic in a bustling city, Merchant Navy veterans paid solemn and silent tribute to sailors who lost their lives as a result of conflict on the high seas.

The annual Service of Remembrance run by the City of Newport branch of Merchant Navy Association (MNA) traditionally takes place on the weekend following Remembrance Sunday.

And veterans were today joined by a younger generation of sailors - members of TS Resolute, Newport Sea Cadets - in paying their respects at the Merchant Seamen's Memorial at the city's Mariners' Green.

Following a short march from the Royal British Legion, a brief service was led by the Reverend Mark Lawson-Jones, South Wales Port Chaplain for the Mission to Seafarers.

Ten standards representing branches of the MNA were lowered as the Last Post was sounded by a lone bugler, before a two-minute silence. A number of wreaths were then laid.

The order of service for this year's event contains a message from the Lord Lieutenant of Gwent Brigadier Robert Aitken CBE, who is president of the City of Newport branch of the MNA.

He writes that in a year in which the centenary of the first sea convoys is marked, it is important to celebrate the Merchant Navy's contribution to national security, "and it is also right that, in this great sea port of Newport, we make a fuss of the men and women of the Merchant Navy Association, who do so much to remind a grateful public of the brave and selfless contribution they made over so many years."

Alan Speight, chairman of the MNA's City of Newport branch, said it is important to continue to honour the sacrifice of those who died whilst serving in the Merchant Navy during times of conflict.