Sam EmanuelA memorial service for two influential members of the military who died this year has been held in Norwich.Sam Emanuel

A memorial service for two influential members of the military who died this year has been held in Norwich.

People came to remember the contributions of Tom Eaton, a former Lord Mayor of Norwich who served with the 4th Norfolk Regiment in Singapore and became president of the Norwich Far East Prisoners of War Association.

Jordan Uttal, an officer from Chicago who had been stationed in Norfolk during the Second World War and who started the 2nd Air Division Association, was also honoured at the event.

Both men have died in recent months - Mr Eaton at the age of 91 and Mr Uttal at the age of 94.

The 2nd Air Division Association is an organisation which, at its peak, had a membership of nearly 9,000 Americans, all of whom had been stationed in Norfolk or north east Suffolk during the war.

A gathering took place in the Memorial library, in The Forum, on Saturday, when about 20 current trust governors and other local figures welcomed Charles 'Chuck' Walker, one of the group's American governors, who is a veteran who flew combat missions with the 445th Bomb Group from Tibenham.