It is the time of year when the nation falls silent to remember those lost in battle and two of the biggest ceremonies will take place in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Here we take a look back at past Armistices Days.
Armistice Day (November 11) has grown over the years from a ceremony to mark the end of World War I to an event which remembers all those who have lost their lives in battle.
Every year hundreds of people gather at the cenotaphs in Edinburgh and Glasgow’s George Square to pay their respects to their city’s fallen.
On November 12 1924, the sixth anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended World War I, hundreds gathered in the rain for a brief but moving ceremony at the cenotaph in George Square, which was attended by representatives from the Royal Scots Fusiliers, Royal Naval Volunteers and Territorial Army units.
The Glaswegian cenotaph was created by sculptor Ernest Gillick and architect John James Burnet and bares the inscription ‘To the immortal honour of the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of Glasgow who fell in the Great War. This memorial is dedicated in proud and grateful recognition by the City of Glasgow.’
A report on the Armistice Day ceremony in the then Glasgow Herald said: “The simple ceremony in which Glasgow, in common with the rest of the country, joined was the expression of the national will to cherish in undying gratitude the service which the men who fell rendered to their fellow.”
In 1973 and 1982 hundreds also gathered at St Giles Cathedral and the Stone of Remembrance in Edinburgh to pay their respects.
And on Sunday this tradition will be kept alive by thousands of people who will hold a two minute silence and attend ceremonies at cenotaphs across the country as a mark of respect to those who have died.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article