UK marking Remembrance Day with services and silences
The country will fall silent at 11am
Last updated 13th Nov 2022
The UK will fall silent today as the country marks Remembrance Day.
At 11am today (14th November) a two-minute silence will be observed to remember those who have died in military conflicts.
Hits Radio will also be taking part, falling silent at 11am.
The National Service of Remembrance will be held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London while many local services will be held across the country.
It will be the first service at the Cenotaph with King Charles on the throne, who will lead the laying of wreaths around the monument.
The Queen, who died nine weeks ago at the age of 96, considered Remembrance Sunday, which commemorates the war dead, one of the most significant and important engagements in the royal calendar.
The nation’s longest-reigning monarch, who lived through the Second World War as a teenager and was head of the armed forces, only missed seven Cenotaph services during her reign, including in 2021 due to a back sprain.
A wreath will also be laid on the Queen Consort’s behalf for the first time as Camilla watches from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office building.
Around 10,000 Royal British Legion veterans, representing 300 different Armed Forces and civilian organisations, will take part in a march past.
They will be joined by an estimated 10,000 members of the public who will line Whitehall to watch the service.
Among those marching will be 100-year-old Second World War veterans and those who served in recent conflicts including in Afghanistan.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, 400 members of the South Atlantic Medal Association will march past the Cenotaph.
They will also be joined by bereaved family members with the youngest marcher aged eight.
Buckingham Palace has announced the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent and Princess Alexandra will attend the service on Sunday.
In 2017, Charles began placing a wreath on his mother’s behalf as she watched from the Foreign Office balcony.
The change was seen as a subtle shift of head-of-state duties.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “This year more than ever, we are reminded of the huge debt of gratitude we owe those who lay down their lives to protect their country.
“As we fall silent together on Remembrance Sunday, we will honour the memories of the men and women we have lost and pay tribute to the brave soldiers of Ukraine as they continue their fight for freedom.”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Remembrance Sunday is a time to reflect upon the sacrifices made by our veterans and service personnel on operations around the world.
“We must never forget those who gave their lives in defence of our values and our great nation.
“All of us will also be thinking of those brave Ukrainians who are fighting for their very own survival to defend freedom and democracy for all, just as the UK and Commonwealth soldiers did in both world wars.
“Today, members of the UK Armed Forces at Cenotaph and around the world will come together to honour all those who came before them.”
Big Ben will chime 11 times to mark the occasion as it returns to normal service after restoration work was completed.
Why do people wear poppies on Remembrance Day?
The symbol of the poppy dates all the way back to the First World War as they grew on the battlefields of the Western Front in Europe.
After the death of his friend in Ypres, Belgium in 1915, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was inspired by the sight of poppies growing in fields.
Amazed by the war memorial he proceeded to write the now-famous poem 'In Flanders Fields'.
Britain began to use the poppy symbol shortly after the war in 1921 when the Royal British Legion was formed.
Though people nowadays tend to go for paper or enamel poppy pins, they were previously made out of silk.
World War 1 timeline:
28 June 1914: Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated. Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, beginning World War I
2-7 August 1914: British forces arrive in France
6-12 September 1914: The First Battle of the Marne. 13,000 British casualties with 1,700 dead. 67,700 Germans dead
5 November 1914: Britain and France declare war on the Ottoman Empire
17 July 1915: Women demonstrate the right to work in war industries
1 July 1916 - 18 November 1916: Battle of the Somme. 420,00 British casualties. 1,499,000 casualties overall.
6 April 1917: The United States declares war on Germany
20 November 1917: First large-scale use of tanks in combat at Cambrai, France
11 November 1918: Germany signs the Armistice at Compiègne, ending World War I.