WHEN he was needed most, as his ship came under intense fire, he was there. A lifetime later, as old comrades gathered to remember the fallen at London’s Cenotaph, he could not be.

For the first time in two decades, this weekend Prince Philip missed the annual Whitehall Remembrance ceremony.

The 97-year-old former Royal Navy first lieutenant - who was mentioned in dispatches for his role in battles off his native Greece - is one of an ever smaller band of World War Two veterans

And, like many other old soldiers, sailors and airmen, he is thought to have remembered in his own way. The youngest combat veterans of the second war are now pushing ninety. Not all of them have the legs to stand at memorials.

The Duke of Edinburgh, the longest ever royal consort, retired from public service last year. He still made it to the 2017 Cenotaph event.

Yet he appeared frail and pictures show him struggling to stay alert. This year an equerry laid a wreath on his behalf.

The Duke is far from alone. A spokesman for Legion Scotland, the body which represents the country’s veterans, stressed its members often were no longer fit enough to come to memorial events person.

He said: “In recent days, we have been contacted by many people who indicated that they would no longer be able to attend services across the country, but most tell us that although 11th November is important, every day is Remembrance Day for them.

“What’s more, advances in all media forms mean they can feel part of what is taking place across the country.”

The Royal family has avoided providing a running commentary on Prince Philip’s health. This Saturday, the day before Remembrance Sunday, he was seen taking his routine carriage ride in the grounds of Windsor Castle.

But the prince has become emblematic of a generation of World War veterans coming to an end. American authorities have said they are losing several hundred men and women to have served in the conflict every day.

Poppy Scotland last week said it expected the size of the country’s armed forces family - those who have served or are immediate relatives of someone who has served - to halve in the next decade.

This is largely the result of the passing of those called up during World War Two and the early post-war years when Britain retained National Service. Frail veterans at Erskine Hospital near Bishopton this weekend were helped to show their appreciation for former colleagues.

The Duke of Edinburgh is of a generation which does not boast idly of its service. It was only in the early 2000s that a former comrade revealed how, as a young lieutenant on board the destroyer HMS Wallace, the then Prince Philip of Greece saved his ship.

The vessel was supporting the landings on Sicily when it came under attack from the air. The future Lieutenant Mountbatten figured out a ruse to build and launch a wooden raft, complete with smoke bombs, to draw fire away from the Wallace.

Former Yeoman Harry Hargreaves said: “Prince Philip saved our lives that night. I suppose there might have been a few survivors, but certainly the ship would have been sunk.” Rank aside, the two men stayed in touch.