THE LORD Mayor of York, Coun Sue Galloway, unveiled a memorial stone to soldiers fallen in Afghanistan at the city’s Memorial Gardens yesterday.

The families of recently fallen York soldiers Trooper Ashley Smith; Royal Marine David Hart and Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton attended the ceremony, along with troops from their regiments, the British Legion and other members of the civic party.

The Lord Mayor recited the Ode of Remembrance from Laurence Binyon’s poem For The Fallen and laid a wreath of poppies on the new memorial after a one-minute silence and dedicated a tree to the soldiers who have fought and are fighting in Afghanistan.

“We dedicate this tree and this stone to all those who have fallen and all those still on active service in Afghanistan,” she said. “I hope this small memorial will give those visiting the gardens the opportunity to reflect in the way that we have done today.”

Jill Hatton, mother of Lance Bombardier Matthew Hatton, said: “It’s nice for the soldiers in Afghanistan that now there’s a memorial here for them too.”

Sandra Smith, mother of Ashley Smith, said it was a “brilliant” thing to do. “It will make our lads proud and we should be proud of what they are doing for us to keep our freedom.

“They all deserve medals and a good homecoming reception when they come home.”