THIS year Remembrance Sunday was actually on November 11. The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month was marked, as usual, by a wreath laying and ceremony at the Greenford War Memorial and, if the past years are a guide, the parade organised by the Greenford Branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) was even bigger and the best yet.

Next time you are in Greenford Broadway, take a look at the memorial. Apart from the long list of local names immortalised in stone you will see last year's wreaths still in place. It's been this way for years and never fails to impress. The wind doesn't seem to blow them away and the respect that Greenford shows for the fallen is such as to ensure that the wreaths remain in place until they are renewed and replaced on the following Remembrance Sunday.

After the Ceremony of Remembrance we make our way to the Royal British Legion with rather less of a military bearing and discipline than that shown by the past and current servicemen and women, the Cadets, Scouts, Guides, St John Ambulance, Police, Rotary, the relatives of the remembered and all who parade.

This year we will, I have no doubt, be discussing the Military Covenant.

This mutual agreement between the nation and its armed forces promises, in the words of the RBL, "support in exchange for service".

I hope that no one in any position of authority will deny that this is a debt of honour and that the basic recommendations of the legion, for just compensation, supporting the physical and mental health of service people and their families and more support for bereaved service families, are fair and must be met.