Armistice Day: UK gathers for remembrance of deaths in military conflicts

Technology

Duchess of Cornwall at Westminster Abbey on 11 November 2021

PA Media

The UK has come together for Armistice Day, a year after ceremonies were disrupted by the pandemic.

Remembrance in 2020 was reduced by Covid rules with people encouraged to stay home and remember the fallen.

With no restrictions in place, people observed a two-minute silence at cenotaphs across the UK to commemorate those who died in military conflicts.

The Duchess of Cornwall laid a cross amid poppies at the 93rd Field of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey.

Camilla – represented the Royal Family at the commemorations – observed the silence ahead of the opening of the display, which will be accessible to the public until 21 November.

A single gun was fired from Edinburgh Castle as local government officials there joined members of the armed forces laying wreaths at the Scott Monument.

Meanwhile, a service took place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire. And delegates at the COP26 summit in Glasgow also observed the silence.

Duchess of Cornwall at Westminster Abbey on 11 November 2021

PA Media

Poppy wreaths at the Cenotaph

PA Media

Cenotaph on 11 November 2021

Reuters

National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire

PA Media

COP26 summit

Reuters

1st Battalion of The Duke Of Lancaster's Regiment march through the streets of Liverpool

PA Media

A two-minute silence is held every year on 11 November at 11:00 GMT to mark the end of World War One in 1918.

The silence is held then because the end of hostilities between Germany and the Allies was declared “on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”.

The traditional symbol of remembrance is the poppy, with people wearing pins and laying wreaths of them in tribute.

line

When is Remembrance Sunday?

Remembrance Sunday – observed on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day – features the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. It will be held this Sunday.

The Queen will pay tribute at the ceremony, alongside other members of the Royal Family, serving and former members of the armed forces, representatives of Commonwealth nations and senior British politicians.

Like Armistice Day, Remembrance Sunday will see the nation fall silent at 11:00 to remember the war dead.

line

In London, hundreds of wreaths have travelled to major stations from around the UK and overseas from locations including the Falkland Islands, as part of the Poppies to Paddington and Routes of Remembrance campaigns by The Veterans Charity.

One has already toured the UK and on Thursday travelled up the Thames, before being taken to the Tower of London on board HMS Belfast – a surviving World War Two Navy warship.

Around the BBC - Sounds

Around the BBC footer - Sounds

Products You May Like

Articles You May Like

IDF confirms ‘decline in forces’ in southern Gaza
Ukraine nuclear plant drone strike prompts warning over risks
Total solar eclipse plunges parts of Mexico into darkness
North America awed by total solar eclipse
MP targeted in Westminster honeytrap resigns party whip

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *