THOUSANDS of soldiers past and present joined their families to mark the 70th anniversary of Britain’s airborne forces.

The day of fun was one of the last opportunities for members of 16 Air Assault Brigade, based in Colchester, to relax before their six-month tour in Afghanistan starting in the autumn.

Members of the Armed Forces, their families and many veterans were invited to the new Merville Barracks in Colchester.

Organisers estimated more than 5,500 people attended the event to see flypasts by Spitfire planes and Apache helicopters.

There was also a parade, a tug of war competition and the Beating the Retreat ceremony.

Saturday’s celebrations began with a convoy of 20 Aston Martin cars making their way to Colchester Castle, where they picked up the town’s mayor, Sonia Lewis, and brought her to the festivities.

She was joined by local MPs, councillors and other dignitaries.

Major Vince McNaught, who organised the event, said representatives from Colchester, Wattisham and Windsor helped to put on a good show.

He added: “It has been a difficult one to organise because the guys are in the middle of redeployment training at the moment.

“On the one free day they have got, they put together a big spectacular for the airborne forces. It has been a community event.”

During the Second World War, in June 1940, Prime Minister Winston Churchill sent a memorandum to the War Office calling for the establishment of a “corps of at least 5,000 paratroops”.

Mr McNaught said: “We have had representatives from all of the brigade. We’ve got stands showing the equipment we use when we deploy.

“We’ve also got a couple of re-enactments for the purpose of the veterans to get a feel for the old and the new ways we work.”