THE 32 British soldiers killed in the Gulf were honoured by their comrades at a memorial service in the Gulf yesterday.

Their names, including North-East and North Yorkshire soldiers, were read from a roll of honour as about 500 soldiers bowed their heads in remembrance.

It was the first time soldiers still serving in Iraq had gathered to pay tribute to those killed in the war.

One of the most moving moments was when Staff Sergeant John Landy spoke about Helen Guy, wife of a Royal Marine, who gave birth less than two weeks after her husband was killed.

Captain Philip Guy, 29, who had recently moved from Leyburn to Skipton, both North Yorkshire, was among eight Royal Marines killed when a US Sea Knight helicopter crashed in the Kuwaiti desert on March 21.

Staff Sgt Landy told the congregation about Capt Guy's death. ''My wife, who has just recently given birth to my second child, could quite easily now be in that same position,'' he told the service, before explaining that the collection from the memorial would be given to the Army Benevolent Fund, which raises money for the families of servicemen and women.

The other North-East and North Yorkshire soldiers to die in Iraq were Colour Sergeant John Cecil, from Newcastle, and Christopher Maddison, of Scarborough. The funeral of the first British soldier killed in Iraq, Sergeant Steven Roberts, of West Yorkshire, was held in Harrogate, where he was an Army instructor.

* Supermarket chain Tesco announced yesterday that it would give a day's paid leave to staff whose relatives were returning from active service in the Gulf.

Lisa Tandy, 27, a Tesco stock control manager at Catterick Garrison, has been apart from husband Keith for three months. ''I missed him like crazy," she said.