Hundreds of service personnel filled the parade ground as ex-soldiers swelled the crowds.

But families, young couples and children also turned out to remember.

After the battalions had marched off the plateau, there was an impromptu gathering of servicemen and women in St John’s Gardens at the back of the hall.

Today, 23-year-old Lance Sergeant Kyle Naylor, an Irish Guard, of Netherley, said: “I am here because I lost two good friends on my last tour of Iraq in 2007.”

LSgt Naylor planted a cross for Lance Sergeant Chris Casey, 27, and Lance Corporal Kirk Redpath, 22, who were both killed when their snatch Land Rover hit a roadside bomb north of Basra.

He added: “It was a good service. I have been down here every year since I was a child.

“A lot of young people are going out to Iraq and Afghanistan and they were coming down here to remember friends and family. It is a young person’s job now.”

On the forces coming together for Remembrance, LSgt Naylor added: “We all have a lot of banter with each other, but we all know we cannot do our jobs without the others.”

Before the service, Danielle Thomas sang Abide With Me, accompanied by the band of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.

In his opening comments, Lord Mayor Cllr Mike Storey noted it was the third time in a week such large numbers had come together in the city.

Last weekend, crowds gathered for a candlelit vigil for brutally assaulted trainee PC James Parkes and to welcome troops from the 2nd Battalion the Rifles back from Afghanistan.

After the Last Post and two minutes silence, the congregation also sang O God Our Help in Ages Past.

The city’s faith leaders gave a blessing and Ms Thomas and the band performed God Save The Queen.

Reflecting on the service, Private Royston Williams, a former field ambulance medic who saw action in Korea, said: “This has been a good service and a good turnout. I noticed a lot of young soldiers.”

The 76-year-old, of Childwall, added: “We all have very different views about Afghanistan. Each war’s different. They are fighting insurgents. We could see our enemy – those lads who are fighting in Afghanistan cannot.”