In bright sunshine, hundreds stood still in Wootton Bassett to pay their respects as the cortege passed through the market town after the young soldiers' coffins were flown to the nearby Royal Air Force Lyneham air base.

Mothers, children, soldiers, veterans and relatives alike fell silent as a single bell tolled at Saint Bartholomew's Church. Four black hearses, carrying the coffins draped in the Union Flag, slowly drove through the high street.

As the coffins became visible, some young women on the roadside, clutching roses, broke down in tears and were held tightly by their loved ones.

Veterans lowered their regimental flags, with one old soldier struggling out of his motor scooter to stand at attention.

"It's good to see that people, not just from the military community, the general public, are paying tribute to our fallen comrades," said Carlton Wray, 34, who left the army last July, having served in Afghanistan in 2001.

The town of Wootton Bassett, population 12,500, has become the focus for Britain's heightened awareness of the war in Afghanistan -- and the grief over the rising casualties. Some 22 British soldiers have died so far this month in Afghanistan.

The four bodies were flown to RAF Lyneham on a grey C-17 military transport plane, then borne out by slow-stepping fellow servicemen to the waiting hearses.

A private memorial was held for close relatives before the sombre cortege drove through Wootton Bassett, the first town en route to a hospital in Oxfordshire in preparation for the inquests.

Wearing his medals, World War II veteran Ray Miles, 83, said he had travelled from the Midlands to honour the late Christopher King, 63 years his junior, but a fellow Coldstream Guardsman.

"I feel angry that this is an occasion where we shouldn't need to be here, but we've got to be here to represent the troops and let them know that we do stand by them," he told AFP.

All four soldiers were killed in explosions in Afghanistan's troubled Helmand province where the Taliban insurgents, beaten in straight gunfights, have switched tactics to use roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

King, 20, had hoped to become a sniper. The rifleman was killed immediately by an IED while on a foot patrol Wednesday.

Captain Daniel Shepherd died on July 20. The 28-year-old was working to clear a route from IEDs. His wife Kerry said she had lost her husband and her best friend.

Rifleman Aminiasi Toge died on July 16. "Togey", 26, was one of 35 Fijians in his battalion. He had served in Northern Ireland and Kosovo before Afghanistan.

Corporal Joseph Etchells was killed on July 19. The 22-year-old was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. "Etch" and his fiancee Julie had a baby daughter.

Red and white roses dedicated to Etchells were among the flowers laid at Wootton Bassett's small war memorial.

One card read: "To Joseph, with my deepest sympathy and regret your homecoming is not a joyful one. You were without doubt one fine young man. God bless you. Love from Grandad."

What started out in 2007 as a few Wootton Bassett veterans paying their respects as the corteges passed through has grown with hundreds coming to acknowledge the fallen.

The town's Mayor Steve Bucknell said he was now receiving more than 200 letters a week from around the country from people expressing their supprt and sympathy.

"Today is the 80th or 81st repatriation we've had," he told AFP. "We're here to pay respects in a quiet and dignified manner. Even the birds stop calling, it is that quiet."

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