It is a toss up in the mind of sports mad Eric Wakefield as to which was the most memorable event in 1953.

Was it Gordon Richards winning the Derby at his 28th attempt? Or, "wizard of dribble" Stanley Matthews picking up the FA Cup after Blackpool's dramatic victory over Bolton Wanderers in the final?

Eric is still not too sure himself. Following those abiding memories is the scaling of Mount Everest and the Coronation.

He prefers not to dwell on the other incident that year -- the fact that he was a corporal in B Company of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment and fought in the Battle of the Hook.

At home in Crag View, Cononley, Eric, a father of two daughters, simply said: "We had a job to do and we got on and did it."

Eric was a regular soldier and was with the 1st Battalion when it set sail for Korea at the end of September 1952, to join the Commonwealth Division as part of the United Nations forces.

Once again the Dukes were on active service and they soon distinguished themselves by vigorous and active patrolling the line.

But it was The Battle of the Hook that saw a unique achievement for an infantry regiment largely composed of raw young National Servicemen.

Two pivotal bastions formed the corner stones of the Commonwealth Divisional front -- the massive Point 355 ridge, or Little Gibraltar, on the right and The Hook on the left. Both features were vital to the defence of the Imjin valley behind them.

The Hook was a spur of ground which stuck out into no-man's land and its gentle forward slopes made it easier to attack and harder to defend than the rocky, steep-sided Point 355.

Whoever held The Hook controlled the route south, said to have been used by every invader of the Korean peninsula since Ghengis Khan.

It was a prize keenly sought by the Chinese. In the lead up to the battle, The Hook was subjected to two weeks of intense day and night shelling by the Chinese. The assault finally came on the night of May 28 at about 7pm.

The regimental history notes: "It was to be a battle of unprecedented ferocity in the Korean War. Not since the trench warfare of the 1914-18 war have British forces fought a battle of such intense artillery confrontation."

Brigadier Kendrew, visiting the scene afterwards, said: "My God those Dukes were marvellous. In the whole of the last war I never saw anything like that bombardment. But they held The Hook, as I knew they would."

The British losses amounted to 149, of which the Dukes had three officers and 17 other ranks killed and 86 wounded. The Chinese losses were estimated at 250 dead and 800 wounded.

Said Eric: "My platoon had a number of the National Servicemen. They, like the regulars, just did what they had to. The Chinese wanted The Hook for propaganda reasons. We knew the attack was coming and had to hold the position."

Eric, who left the army in 1969 when the service was reorganised, added: "We don't say much about it.

"Though I do sometimes wonder about all this counselling for soldiers these days. They shouldn't have joined up."

Eric won't be able to attend tomorrow's ceremony due to ill health.

Retired builder Bob Spence, of Kildwick, will be at the event. He joined The Dukes as a regular "so I could go to Korea". But because of an age ruling -- he was under 19 -- he couldn't be at The Hook.

Explained Bob: "We were in Japan and had to wait. But I was at The Hook in the days after, helping to clear up. It was difficult for us even then.

"There were some very brave men at that battle. It is only right that the 50th anniversary be remembered."

A 3in mortar under the command of L Cpl Goodall at The Hook