British forces in Afghanistan suffered another fatality today as tens of thousands of people back home marked Remembrance Sunday in sober and often emotional ceremonies around the country.

The Ministry of Defence said that the soldier from 4th Battalion, The Rifles, died in a blast in central Helmand province this morning. His family have been informed.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Wakefield, a spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: “It is my sad duty to inform you that earlier today, the morning of Remembrance Sunday, a soldier from 3 Rifles Battle Group was killed as a result of an explosion near Sangin, in Helmand Province.

“One of our fellow soldiers, one of us, who we remembered this morning and who will not be forgotten.”

The death took the number of British troops who have died in Afghanistan since the mission began in October 2001 to 232. Of those, 201 have died as a direct result of hostile action — the milestone of 200 combat deaths having been reached yesterday when another explosion near Sangin killed a soldier from 2nd Battalion, The Rifles.

The nation’s Remembrance Day celebrations were led by the Queen, joined by other members of the Royal Family, and by Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, and leaders of the Opposition.

Thousands of veterans, many wearing their service medals, gathered from early this morning for the wreath-laying at London’s Cenotaph. The Queen laid the first wreath after two minutes of silence at 11am, marking the moment 91 years ago when hostilities ended on the Western Front.

Approximately 7,500 ex-service men and women and 1,600 civilians joined the march down Whitehall, watched by poppy-wearing members of the public standing 15 deep.

Earlier, during a ceremony at a British army base in Afghanistan, Padre Mark Christian, the senior chaplain of 11 Light Brigade, said that the soldiers were there to commit themselves to “the cause of peace and justice throughout the world”.

About 500 men and women attended the ceremony at the compound in Lashkar Gah, where wreaths were laid and a one-minute silence was held. Many of the soldiers have lost friends and colleagues during tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Padre Christian said that his own thoughts today turned to a friend who was killed in the Falklands. “Since then. I have held these services in Bosnia and Iraq and here today in Afghanistan and I know many more people who have given their lives.”

Referring to the murder of five British soldiers by an Afghan policeman on Tuesday, he said: “Of course, I was the chaplain to the Grenadier Guards so last week’s incident was personal for me, too. So I stand here and I grieve, I think of the pain of their passing and I think of their families.

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