YOUNG and old stood shoulder to shoulder in towns and villages across the Keighley district on Sunday as the nation remembered its war dead.

Services were held in several communities where in many cases unprecedented numbers turned out to honour the fallen.

The centenary of the start of the First World War and the recent conflict in Afghanistan added poignancy and further meaning to proceedings.

At Haworth, an act of remembrance followed a service at the parish church.

Among those laying wreaths was Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire David Pearson, who lives in the village, and local parish council chairman John Huxley.

"The acts of remembrance are attracting more and more support from our communities," said Councillor Huxley.

"This year we particularly remembered those who gave their lives in the First World War and we also kept in mind all those who had made the supreme sacrifice in other conflicts right up to the wars going on today."

In neighbouring Cross Roads, a ceremony was held after services at both St James' Parish Church and Lees Methodist Church.

Current and former armed forces personnel were among those who gathered at Oxenhope, where there was a service at St Mary's Church.

Wreaths were presented by organisations including the village primary school, Guides, the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway and Oxenhope and Bradford councils.

Large crowds turned out at Oakworth war memorial, where lessons and readings preceded the two-minute silence.

And a service at Silsden's Memorial Gardens was also well attended. All three churches were represented, with Father Michael McLaughlin and the Rev David Griffiths and Ruth Crompton leading the service, along with local Legion chairman Jean Bower.

St Andrew's Methodist Church in Cowling staged its annual remembrance service.

Updated memorial lists were dedicated, prior to distribution to the village's five public buildings.

Wreaths were laid at the recreation ground memorial by villager Rob Cromey-Hawke, who took part in the recent Invictus Games, and by Cowling School pupils Amelia Best and Scarlett Metcalfe.

The names of the 71 Cowling men who lost their lives in both world wars were read out.

Afterwards, a wreath was also placed at the Holy Trinity Church memorial.

Following Keighley's ceremony, the veterans retired to the Drill Hall for a meal hosted by Deputy Lord Lieutenant Richard Jackson.

After the departure from Keighley last December of the 4th Battalion Yorkshire Regiment, it was feared the traditional annual meal would not take place.

But the Duke of Wellington's Association and Yorkshire Volunteers Association stepped in to organise the event.

British Thornton, WT Supplies, Timothy Taylor, McDowell Transport and Royal Yorkshire Masonic Lodge 265 provided a purpose-built bar and equipment.

Mr Jackson approached Polar Ford to sponsor the meal.