The nation will pay its respects and remember the sacrifices of servicemen and women in a two-minute silence this Remembrance Day.
Observed every year since 1919, Remembrance or Armistice Day is marked on the anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11.
Remembrance falls on the second Sunday of November which means that it will be observed on November 12.
Services and parades are held across the country to remember and honour those who lost their lives in the First World War and the conflicts that have followed.
The Royal British Legion’s 2023 #PoppyAppeal launches today with our new plastic-free poppy ♻️
— Royal British Legion (@PoppyLegion) October 26, 2023
Made entirely from paper, the plastic-free poppy is available alongside stock of the existing poppy to reduce waste. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/COSDK0se4l
When did the two-minute silence for Remembrance Day tradition begin?
The first two-minute silence in the UK was observed on November 11, 1919, celebrating the day the war ended one year prior.
King George V declared: “All locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead."
When are the two minutes of silence on Remembrance Day?
A two-minute silence is observed at 11 am, according to tradition.
The two-minute silence is held on both Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday after The Last Post is sounded.
This week, we launched the RBL #PoppyAppeal at our warehouse, welcoming our biggest supporters like D-Day Veteran John Roberts and fundraiser Maisie Mead.
— Royal British Legion (@PoppyLegion) October 29, 2023
As poppies now make their way to Poppy Appeal collectors across the country, please show your support by wearing yours. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/30EPHfw28z
It is held on November 11, also known as Armistice Day, which commemorates the day the war ended in 1918.
Many services on Sunday then hold the 2-minute silence again at cenotaphs, parades and public events. Both are at 11 am.
Why is 11 am significant on Armistice Day?
11 am marks the time agreements were made that ended the First World War.
The silence is always held at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.
Remembrance Day Poem, The Fallen
On Remembrance Day the fourth verse of Binyon’s poem For the Fallen is read.
It reads:
The Ode
"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
"Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
"At the going down of the sun and in the morning
"We will remember them."
For the Fallen, by Lawrence Binyon in full
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.
But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
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Why do we mark Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday?
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
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