Banbury's Amazon employees attend Memorial Garden service

Around 70 children and 80 residents were joined by Amazon employees for the service, conducted by local civil minister Lindy Bridgeman, at a memorial garden on the grounds of Amazon’s delivery station.

Children were invited to lay flowers and crosses for the fallen and a piper and a procession of three American military jeeps closed the service.

Chris Smithson, yard marshall at Amazon and chairman of the Banbury Branch of The Royal British Legion, said: “I'd like to thank everyone who came along to pay their respects and to Lindy for leading the service.”

Amazon - which has received the Gold Award in the Ministry of Defence’s Employer Recognition Scheme as well as Employer of the Year 2019 in the British Ex-Forces in Business Awards - employs hundreds of veterans and reservists in its operations sites and corporate offices across the UK.

The company kicked off its military veteran’s programme in the UK in 2011, helping ex-military personnel and their spouses to find rewarding careers after their service.

In 2017 Amazon was one of the first companies to sign up to the Armed Forces Covenant - a promise to ensure that those who serve or have served, and their families, are treated fairly.

Veterans Aid, a charity supporting veterans in crisis in the UK, has partnered with Amazon to focus on awareness initiatives, recruitment, fundraising, food redistribution and donations. Amazon customers can support the work of Veterans Aid through the Amazon Smile programme.