Britain falls silent as we remember them
MILLIONS impeccably observed a two-minute silence held to mark Armistice Day yesterday.
The pause at 11am to mark the end of the First World War was particularly poignant this year.
While businesses, shoppers and office workers stopped to reflect and pay thanks to those who gave the ultimate sacrifice, conflict continues to ravage Ukraine.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who exclusively told the Daily Express yesterday that Britain will stand shoulder to shoulder with the war-torn country until Russia is driven out, laid a wreath at a service in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
Moments of quiet reflection and official ceremonies were held in all four corners of the UK.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who welcomed veterans and members of the military to Downing Street for a reception, paid tribute saying: “Today and forever, we will remember them.”
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester marked the anniversary at the Armed Forces Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum, at Alrewas, Staffordshire, while in Edinburgh the city’s famous One O’Clock Gun was fired from the castle.
Thousands in the heart of the City at insurance giant Lloyd’s of London stopped work and lined the building’s distinctive iron staircases with heads bowed. And Royal British Legion flag bearers and veterans observed the tribute at war memorials in Armed Forces heartlands such as Portsmouth, Colchester, Hereford and Aldershot.
Soldiers stationed at UK bases overseas in Cyprus, Brunei and Kenya also honoured the Glorious Dead.
In a touching tribute, poppies were placed in the boots of bronze figures at
the Royal Air Force Bomber Command Memorial, Green Park, London, which Daily Express readers helped pay for.
It honours the sacrifice of 55,573 British and Allied airmen during the Second World War. Veteran Joe Cattini, 99, attended a Westminster Abbey service with daughter Frances Bradshaw.