The Bishop of Lichfield has today joined with the people of Shropshire to give thanks to the troops from the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment who have returned to the county from deployment in Afghanistan.

The Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill was speaking at a service this morning at Shrewsbury Abbey to mark the return of the Rangers to their battalion's home at Clive Barracks, Tern Hill, near Market Drayton. The Battalion is part of 16 Air Assault Brigade, the highest readiness Brigade in the UK's Armed Forces, designed to deploy anywhere in the world at short notice. The Brigade includes the Parachute Regiment and the Apache Helicopter Regiments.

Speaking at the service, which was relayed to large crowds outside the Abbey, Bishop Gledhill said: "All those of us who are not soldiers are here to say 'thank you' to the First Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment.

"We know that in previous wars and campaigns, soldiers found it difficult on leave ever to share what they'd been through. And the people back home couldn't ever understand what their soldiers had seen and experienced. So their welcomes could be clumsy and their sympathy could make things worse. We civilians recognise that just by speaking we may put our foot in it, but we want to honour you and thank you, however inadequately.

"For our part, we civilians are very proud that in spite of the incredible odds you have made a difference."

Bishop Gledhill paid tribute to the difference the troops had made in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, the Gulf, and Iraq.

"You have been to hell and back in Afghanistan and we are proud of you and of what you have achieved," he added.

"So today we thank you for doing a difficult and dangerous job on behalf of us all, for working for peace and harmony between nations, for defending the weak, for reconciling the enemies for showing the Afghan Army what our values are, and we welcome you back for some well-deserved rest and recuperation."