Royal Navy veterans refused to take part in a parade at the 63rd Festival of Remembrance after a row broke out over the programme order.

For the first time in 63 years the Royal Naval Standard did not parade at the festival at St George’s Hall, Bradford, on Sunday night as the Bradford Royal Naval Association objected to being placed behind the Royal British Legion.

Last night Bradford Council, which holds the event, apologised for the error – which it blamed on the absence of the usual parade marshall. Malcolm Gibson, president of the Bradford RNA, said in the past the parade for the Festival of Remembrance had always been led by the Royal Navy.

He said: “The Festival of Remembrance is for veterans of the armed forces and the Royal Navy has always led the parade of standards in St George’s Hall.

“It doesn’t lead on Remembrance Sunday when the British Legion does, because the British Legion organises this, but the Festival of Remembrance is for the armed forces.

“The reason I decided the standard was not going to take part was because the British Legion is trying to commandeer the veterans’ association. What this year’s festival represented to me and to a lot of people in the naval association was this is not really by the Bradford people.”

Veteran and Telegraph & Argus columnist Bill Lee, who has compered the evening for the last 15 years but has now stepped down from the role, said: “After 62 years of it being perfectly all right it should have been left alone and not fiddled with – if it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Mary Thornton, a member of the Association of Wrens and the Royal Marines Association, said: “The special remembrance was for the D-Day and Normandy landings.

“They had a standard which could have gone first in the circumstances, otherwise the Royal Navy, as always, should have been first on parade.

“Even after the Royal Navy the other forces come in order of the Army, the RAF, the British Legion and then the cadets.

“That is the order, that is how it should be, and the order of this year’s event has upset an awful lot of people.”

Loraine Radcliffe, Bradford Council’s civic affairs manager, said: “The usual parade marshall was on holiday when the Festival of Remembrance took place and we have looked at what happened and a wrong decision was made.

“The Royal Naval Association’s standard bearer should have gone first and we can only apologise for this. Procedures are being reviewed for next year’s event.”

e-mail: james.rush @telegraphandargus.co.uk