SINCE WW1

99 YEARS

SILENCE fell across the North yesterday as the region joined the rest of the UK to remember and pay tribute to its fallen heroes.

At the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Big Ben, which has been silent since August because of repair work, chimed to mark Armistice Day with two minutes of silence.

Services and wreath laying ceremonies were held around the region to commemorate the 99 years since the end of the First World War.

Hundreds of people gathered in Durham market place. They joined the Mayor and representatives of the Royal British Legion who observed the two minute’s silence from the steps of Durham Town Hall.

There were also ceremonies and wreath laying events throughout the day at Birtley Cenotaph, Greenside War Memorial, the Low Fell Boer War Memorial on Durham Road, and the White Swan Centre in Killingworth.

In South Shields at St Stephen’s Church there was also a wreath laying ceremony, as well as one at the Merchant Navy Memorial and one at Monkton Village.

A series of events had already taken place across the North East in the run up to Armistice Day.

Hundreds of shells and pebbles were used to create a stunning poppy display at the foot of the famous Tommy statue along the seafront in Seaham.

And in Gateshead, a moving Field of Remembrance with scores of crosses has been opened at Saltwell Park.

Meanwhile, residents at Washington Manor met Falklands War hero Simon Weston.

It is part of the St Martins Care group, for which Simon is an ambassador, and operates six care homes across the region from Newcastle to Teesside.

Durham County Cricket’s South African stars, Brydon Carse and Gareth Harte, also attended the event at Washington Manor.

There are also many more events taking place today, Remembrance Sunday.