More than 150 people, undeterred by persistent rain and plummeting temperatures, stood in silent tribute outside Watford Town Hall this afternoon to honour the war dead on Remembrance Sunday.

Mourners young and old huddled in the gloom around the Peace Memorial as thanks were offered and tributes paid to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for peace and freedom.

Veterans, flanked by impeccably turned-out scouts and cadets, bowed their heads as a bugler played the Last Post and two minutes of silence was respectfully observed.

Dignitaries, including MP Richard Harrington and council chairman Alan Burtenshaw, laid a series of commemorative wreaths before Mayor Dorothy Thornhill read Jon McCrae’s ever poignant First World War poem In Flanders Fields.

The ceremony, concluded with a rousing verse of the national anthem, was followed with a much warmer civic reception inside the Town Hall, where hot drinks were gratefully received.

One man untroubled by the chilly conditions, however, was former Royal Navy aviator Fred Good, who joked that he had been far colder flying in an open-top Swordfish biplane over the North Atlantic.

Mr Good, who was representing the Watford Fleet Air Arm Association, served with the perilous North Atlantic convoys between 1941 and 1945.

He said: “I’m here today to remember those who didn’t come back and those who gave their lives before. A lot of us are getting very old now but it is important that we remember.

“It was very cold today but I actually think it was busier than it usually is, despite the weather.”

Association colleague and friend Derek Sandwell explained: “I really think people are drawn here by what’s going on in Afghanistan at the moment – it makes it more real.

“It was also really lovely to see so many young children here as well. There was one little girl holding a standard that was bigger than she was.”