FOR most of us, Christmas Day was a time spent in the safety of our own homes, surrounded by loved ones.

For soldiers from the 19 Light Brigade, the Royal Engineers and the Staffordshire Regiment, Christmas Day was the date chosen for a raid on a renegade police station in Basra.

The operation - involving about 1,000 troops, supported by Iraqi forces - was aimed at saving dozens of prisoners who were due to be executed.

Thankfully, the raid was a success, with the removal of 127 prisoners, many of them thought to have been falsely imprisoned.

It is another illustration of the continuing challenges facing our forces in war zones abroad. For them, there was no day off for Christmas, just more danger and uncertainty about when they might be able to return home.

Irrespective of the arguments about whether Britain was right to support the war in Iraq, our forces deserve to be recognised for their efforts and sacrifices.

There is no better time to spare a thought for them than Christmas, when most of us get the chance to rest, spend time with our families, and savour the peace we all too often take for granted.

JAMES Brown's sense of the dramatic was true to the end yesterday when he died, aged 73, on Christmas Day.

Brown overcame poverty, racism and brushes with the law to become one of the greatest musical figures of his generation, transforming gospel music into rhythm and blues, and soul music into funk.

His legacy will be his music and the influence he had on other artistes - both black and white