THE DORCHESTER community is being urged to show its support for the armed forces as veterans prepare to go on parade in the town this weekend.

The county town's annual Armed Forces and Veterans Day is being held on Saturday to recognise those who have served and our serving our country.

This year's event marks the 100th anniversary of both the Battle of Jutland, the only sea battle of the First World War between the German High Seas Fleet and the British Grand Fleet, and the Battle of the Somme.

The Somme was the bloodiest battle in human history, with more than one million British, French and German soldiers killed.

As well as recognising these historic events and the contributions of armed forces down the years, the event will also celebrated the modern day role of the armed forces, which involves peace keeping, disaster relief, fighting terrorism and tackling drug smugglers.

The parade will set off from North Square at 1.25pm and will head down South Street before crossing Trinity Street and heading up Bowling Alley Walk to the Borough Gardens, were an afternoon of entertainment will be laid on.

Veterans will be joined on the parade by serving armed forces personnel, cadets and representatives of the emergency services.

Events in the Borough Gardens will begin with a civic service at 1.50pm, with a band concert from 2.30pm featuring the Wessex Military Band, the Durnovaria Silver Band and the Dorchester Rock Choir.

There will also be a range of stalls and service displays manned by service and ex-service personnel.

A display of military vehicles will be on show and there will be refreshments available in the gardens.

The event is aimed at demonstrating to the public how the armed forces and veterans enhance everyone's life by their service to the community.

A spokesman for the organising committee said: "Veterans are men and women of all ages with a variety of different backgrounds, they all deserve our recognition.

"Not only have they honoured their commitment to defend our country's interests in service, they also bring many transferable skills which benefit the community.

"Many examples of such individuals can be found in hospital and ambulance services, fire and rescue services, coastguard, the RNLI and many other occupations, using their skills and experience to enrich their local communities."

The committee added that it wanted to thank Dorchester Town Council, the Royal Naval Association, the Royal British Legion and all the other organisations and businesses that were supporting the event.