PEOPLE POURED OUT INTO THE STREETS AND REJOICED

AT 5 A.M. on Monday, November 11, 1918, delegates from the German government signed an armistice document with the Allied forces, bringing an end to the World War I at 11 a.m. that day.

The delay was to allow the details to be conveyed to personnel on both sides of the conflict. In the meantime, hostilities continued and it’s believed that in the six hours from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m., the Allies suffered a further 11,000 casulties.

At 11 a.m., the guns fell silent for the first time in five years.

Since Gavrilo Princips assassinated Archduke Franz Joseph, heir apparent to the Hapsburg empire, and his wife in Sarajevo on June 18, 1914, millions of soldiers and civilians had lost their lives in the Great War.

Shortly after 10 a.m., news of the armistice was announced and was received with great joy and jubilation all over the world.

Bray was one of many towns where people poured out into the streets and engaged in spontaneous rejoicing on receipt of the news. All the principal business houses in the town, the two military hospitals, private residences and some of the churches were decked out with bunting while some of the soldier patients marched though the streets singing patriotic songs, carrying flags and beating drums. That afternoon many local traders closed for a half-day to allow staff to take part in the celebrations.

For the next 36 hours, celebrations continued throughout the county. However, for those who lost a loved one there was little to celebrate and servicemen who had suffered life-changing injuries wondered what their future had in store.

In Greystones, Delgany and the surrounding area, public rejoicing was plainly visible.

In Greystones, residences in every part of the town were effectively illuminated at night and by Tuesday practically every house was festooned with Union Jacks while children waved miniature flags in the streets.