… was held in the Father Goose Hall and was opened by The Marquess of Reading (formally of the Queen’s Dragoon Guards) at which up to 50 Veterans’ Badges were handed out by Col. Dudding (The Queens representative in Newham) to those who served their Country in the armed forces for a combined 277 years.  In addition many went on to serve society using the skills they learnt in the services.

The impressive roll call of 2008 listed veterans of all ages (from 93 to 23) from all the services.  Have you heard of places like: El Alamain, Normandy, Suez, Sicily, Germany, Korea, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan, Iraq, Malaya, Japan, Borneo and Burma?  These are just some of the places where Canning Town people served and that is not to mention the 7 seas.  Combining the roll call, and the units each parson served in, was a humbling experience.