Renembrance Day
Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom commemorates the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
It is held on the second Sunday in November (the Sunday nearest to 11 November, Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of hostilities in World War I in 1918.
It is marked by ceremonies at local war memorials in most cities, towns and villages, attended by civic dignitaries, ex-servicemen and -women
Wreaths of remembrance poppies are laid on the memorials, and two minutes’ silence is held at 11 am. Church bells are usually rung half-muffled, creating a sombre effect. The overall ceremony, including parades, service and wreath-laying, typically lasts about two hours.
The focus of remembrance for the dead of the First World War originally fell on Armistice Day itself, commencing in 1919.
The national ceremony is held in London at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, starting with two minutes’ silence at 11am and concluding with the end of The Nation’s Thank You procession at 1:30 p.m.
The main part of the ceremony consists of the laying of wreaths by members of the royal family and other dignitaries, a service of remembrance with prayers and a hymn. It is immediately followed by a march-past by thousands of ex-service personnel and contingents from other organisations. Marchers salute the Cenotaph as they pass and wreaths are handed over to be laid around it.
The notion of wearing a poppy in the days up to and including Renembrance Sunday originates back to World War One when the flower grew on the battlefields where soldiers lost their lives.
Similar services are held in the United States on November 11 each year where the commemoration is known as Veterans Day.
In Australia and New Zealand it is held in April and is known as Anzac Day . Named after the Australian and and New Zealand Army Corps , it occurs on April 25, the date in 1915 when thousands of Australian and New Zealanders lost their lives in the asssult on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey during World War 1.
