Gathering in St James's Park London, the veterans were honoured by the presence of Her Majesty the Queen and other members of the Royal Family. Also attending were Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie along with Lady Thatcher who was Prime Minister during the conflict.

After forming up in Birdcage Walk, Massed Bands and veterans marched proudly along the Mall to Buckingham Palace before the event concluded with a flypast by aircraft, some of which helped liberate the Islands in 1982.

Although the Vulcan - famous for the morale-boosting Black Buck raid - has long been out of service, the Red Arrows brought it back in kind by flying a special 'Vulcan' formation.

It was a day of reunion and emotion, with many colleagues being reunited for the first time since the war; they all had plenty to catch up on. There were of course tales of tragedy and heroism but most agreed they just did the job they were trained to do.

For Chief Petty Officer Adrian Armstrong it was a day to both remember and celebrate the lives of fallen colleagues. CPO Armstrong was a Radio Operator on board HMS Invincible. He says one of his overriding memories of the Falklands Conflict was being confined to one place for more than three months:

"We used to sleep on deck in case of air raids," he said, "I did shifts of six hours on and six hours off. I went up one set of stairs to the upper deck where I was on duty and then returned to go to sleep."

Asked how he stayed focused despite hours of tedium he explained:

"Our training stood us well. We were fully prepared and when the attacks did come we were able to fall back on what we had learned, instinctively knowing what to do."

One of his worst memories was seeing HMS Sheffield burst into flames after bein g hit by an Exocet missile:

"Invincible had a number of ships to protect her and I remember feeling humbled that fellow sailors had given their lives to protect us," Cpo Armstrong continued. "I was 18 at the time and it was one of those life changing experiences that never leaves you. I suppose I grew up that day, certainly when I returned home my mother told me I was a different person from the one that went off to war."

"One of the things witnessing an horrific event teaches you is perspective. I'm now a very laid back sort of person. Getting stuck in a traffic jam is nothing compared to what many went through during the Falklands Conflict."

51 year old Bryan Marshall travelled to London from Cornwall to remember his lost comrades. He served with the war's unsung heroes - the Merchant Navy. A sailor on RFA Tidepool in 1982, he was heading south to help deliver the ship to its new owners - the Chilean Government - when war broke out. The vesssel immediately altered its course to join the Task Force.

"Our job was to supply helicopter fuel to the Navy," said Mr Marshall. "To do so meant docking in Stanley Bay where the tanks were. I remember mooring up while Stanley was in Argentine hands. Guns blazed at us from both sides of the town then we were attacked by planes.

"One bomb went straight through the wheelhouse and bounced over the deck before splashing into the sea. It's just as well really, one of my jobs was steering the ship. I wouldn't still be here if I'd been on piloting duties."

Life for RFA sailors was no less dangerous in 1982 than for its RN counterparts. Mr Marshall vividly recalled dodging torpedoes whilst out at sea:

"I never prayed so much in my life as I did in the South Atlantic."

RFA Tidepool was the last ship to leave the Falklands after the liberation of Stanley when its crew belatedly set sail for Santiago to deliver her to the new owners:

"She was a bit later and a bit more beaten up than they were expecting," added Mr Marshall, "but that ship did our country proud 25 years ago."