About 70 people have gathered to remember the 71st anniversary of the largest airborne operation in history on a single day.

Veterans, their families and staff met at the Memorial Site at Marks Hall Gardens and Arboretum, in Coggeshall, to commemorate the anniversary of Operation Varsity.

Guests included Lord Petre, Lord Lieutenant of Essex, trustee of Marks Hall, Meriel Barclay, and members of the Earls Colne Parish Council.

Many representatives from the Parachute Regiment Association, the Army Air Corps and the Glider Pilot Regiment also gathered to pay their respects and to lay tributes.

Operation Varsity was a daring collaboration between British and American airborne divisions which played a vital role in the final assault on Germany during the Second World War.

The mission involved more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft and was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day and in one location.

On March 24 1945, a force of 440 gliders of the Glider Pilot Regiment, towed by 440 tug aircraft of the Royal Air Force, took off from airfields across East Anglia, including Earls Colne.

They were able to capture and hold the town of Hamminkeln, along with three vital bridges over the River Issel.

Of the 402 gliders which reached the battle area, 37 were destroyed by fire and only 88 remained undamaged.

A total of 102 glider pilots were killed and a further 102 were wounded.

Many of the tug aircraft from 38 and 46 Group Royal Air Force were shot down or damaged and 43 aircrew were killed and 153 were wounded.

Rebecca Lee, general manager at Marks Hall, said: “It is always important to the staff and trustees to mark this occasion.

“We were delighted to once again welcome David Brook, a veteran of the campaign, who suffered shrapnel wounds when the glider he was piloting was hit after it landed near a German artillery position. "

She added: "The memorial site at Marks Hall is a special place and we know that many friends and family look forward to coming here to pay their respects and to remember.”