Grieving families angered by remembrance day snub

Relatives of Army recruits who died at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, and the parents of North-East soldier Private Geoff Gray wanted permission to attend the November ceremony and lay a wreath at the Centotaph.

But the Department of Constitutional Affairs, which is responsible for organising the ceremony, deemed the request "inappropriate" because the soldiers were not victims of war.

The refusal has angered the families, who are fighting for a public inquiry into all non-combat deaths at British Army bases.

Lynn Farr, whose son, Daniel, died at Catterick in 1997 in unusual circumstances, wrote to officials to ask if families of soldiers not killed in war could attend, but the request was turned down.

Mrs Farr said last night: "Our argument is that the soldiers had all signed an allegiance to the Queen and by enlisting showed they were willing to die for their country."

In correspondence sent to Mrs Farr, the department said it was inappropriate for the families to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph ceremony on behalf of service personnel who had not died in war, because it was for those "who had died in conflict in the service of their country and all those who mourn them".

But in an official statement, a spokesman said it was thought the original request had been for the families to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph with dignitaries such and the Queen and the Prime Minister.

A spokesman said: "We apologise if there has been any misunderstanding. We had understood that the original inquiry related to the ceremony itself at the Cenotaph, which follows a time-honoured pattern."

The Royal British Legion, which is responsible for the march to the Cenotaph, has allocated the families 18 tickets so they can lay a wreath.

The parents of Pte Gray, of Seaham, County Durham, who died from two bullet wounds at Deepcut barracks, Surrey, will attend, along with Mrs Farr and other families from around the UK.