EVERYDAY life at RAF Lyneham came to a halt yesterday as the bodies of the 10 brave servicemen killed in the Hercules tragedy flew home for the last time.

Shops closed for business and normal operations ceased as close family gathered for the moving repatriation ceremony.

Wing Cmdr Jules Eaton said the repatriation ceremony, attended by dignitaries including the Princess Royal and Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon, had been kept deliberately low-key with a focus on the families involved.

The moving ceremony, in front of the base's terminal building, saw the off-loading of the 10 coffins dressed in Union flags.

The Central Band of the Royal Air Force, supplemented by the RAF Regi-ment Band, played during the hour-long proceedings as bearers from the RAF Regiment and the Royal Corps of Sig-nals carried their dead colleagues.

As the ceremony unfolded, grief-stricken relatives clung to each other for support inside a specially erected marquee.

Each coffin was trans-ferred into a waiting hearse and driven slowly away from a position directly in front of a marquee-covered seating area where loved ones looked on.

The procedure was repeated 10 times. The band's mournful tunes changed as each coffin was moved.

The remains were then taken, in a slow convoy to the Great Western Hospital to be formally identified.

Off-loading was overseen by Sgt Major Billy Mott, garrison sergeant major for the London District.

Leading the salutes as each coffin was slowly lowered by its bearing party and loaded into its hearse was Warrant Officer John Duff, warrant officer for RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

Having flown direct from Basra, the C17 Globemaster performed a fly-by, in front of the base's terminal building before touching down on the runway.

It then taxied and parked in front of the seating area before opening its rear door.

At the back of the huge C17 aircraft stood The Venerable Air Vice Marshall Ron Hesketh and Chaplain General David Wilkes. They bowed their heads in respect as each coffin was lifted out.

Wing Cdr Eaton said: "It has been a balance between decorum and bringing the families back together.

"The event followed the same pattern of activities as previous repatriations."

Initial doubts about where the remains would be taken were cleared when it was confirmed that the airmen would be brought to RAF Lyne-ham, where eight of the 10 men were based.

It had previously been suggested that the bodies would be flown to RAF Brize Norton, 30 miles away, as service personel who died during the Iraq conflict were.

But because of what the "exceptional circumstances" a decision was made to take them straight to Lyneham.

Wing Cdr Trevor Field, a RAF communications officer, said it was particularly poignant for RAF crews to be repatriated at their home base.