Armistice Day 2010

Field of Remembrance, Westminster Abbey, London

Millions of people across the UK have observed a two-minute silence to mark Armistice Day Ceremonies have been taking place to honour all who have fallen since WWI, In London, a service was held for the 90th time at the Cenotaph memorial. Both the Cenotaph and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey were inaugurated at 11.00 am on the 11th November 1920. Britain was still in shock in 1920 when with the coming of peacetime it took stock of the carnage of the Great War. One in 10 males under 45 had perished in World War One. The dead and injured were remembered on the anniversary of the Armistice or ceasefire coming into effect at 11.00 am on the 11th November 1918, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. This was referred to as Armistice Day with the name being changed to the more meaningful “Veterans Day” in the United States. It is sometimes forgotten, including by those who should know better, that the day has nothing to do with support for “Our Boys” or for current military campaigns but is a time of remembrance and respect for those killed and injured in conflict. Fundamentally it is decrying the waste of human life in war and is pacifist in intent – as was the mood of the nation in 1920.


Grave of my Great Uncle, Pte. James McMahon of the Dublin Fusilliers in Beaurevoir Military Cemetery, Ainse, France. He died on the 8th October 1918 in the "Final 100 Days" attacking the Hindenberg Line

Abroad Prime Minster David Cameron laid a wreath at the site of the British Army's bloodiest battle since the end of WWII - at the Imjin River in South Korea. A total of 93 men from the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, died either during the battle or in captivity after being cut off by Chinese communist forces. Mr Cameron attended the War Memorial of Korea, alongside Black Watch veteran WO Peter Johns. Whilst defeated the battalion's defensive efforts ultimately helped prevent a direct assault on the capital, Seoul. The prime minister, who was in Korea for a G20 summit, spent several, moments in contemplation at the memorial in what is now known by Koreans as Gloster Valley.


David Cameron attended the War Memorial of Korea, alongside Black Watch veteran WO Peter Johns


The 2 minute silence being observed at the Lloyds of London Insurance Market

The three-day battle, from 22 April 1951, was the British army's bloodiest since WWII but proved pivotal to the Korean War. The 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, were surrounded by Chinese communist forces. Running short of water and ammunition, the "Glorious Glosters" held their hilltop position throughout a full day and a night, repelling waves of Chinese attackers. The battalion lost 59 men and 526 were taken prisoner - 180 of them wounded. Another 34 died in captivity. But their stand delayed the advance of the Communist troops, preventing them from outflanking the UN and Republic of Korea forces who could then prevent a direct assault on Seoul. The 29th Brigade, of which the Glosters formed part, suffered 1,091 casualties, dead, wounded or missing during the Imjin River offensive. Chinese casualties numbered around 10,000. A total of 1,078 UK troops died and 2,674 were wounded during the Korean War from 1950-53.


Poppies at Trafalgar Square

In London the service at the Cenotaph was attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury, defence ministers, representatives of military associations, veterans and schoolchildren. Other events included the Duke of Edinburgh visiting the Field of Remembrance and the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. A service of remembrance also took place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.



Meanwhile, the Royal British Legion hosted Silence in the Square, giving people the chance to take part in the two-minute silence to remember troops past and present, and share in music, readings and entertainment. The event in London's Trafalgar Square features pop band The Saturdays, TV presenter Ben Shephard and actors Keeley Hawes and Ben Barnes. For the first time even the London buses and taxis slowly making their way around Trafalgar Square were hushed as the traffic lights all changed to red.




Locomotive "Valour" at Marylebone Station, London

At Marylebone Station the railway industry’s mobile memorial the freight locomotive “Valour” with its nameplate commemorating the fallen was hove to at Platform 5 as the centrepiece for observing the 2 minute silence at 11.00 am. From 1922 until 1938 the centrepiece of the annual Armistice Day commemoration had been the Great Central Railways war memorial locomotive, the express passenger 4-6-0 “Valour”. Sadly, the original `Valour' is no more, but, as the culmination of the 2003 ceremony, the freight locomotive no. 66715 was named as the new “Valour” and dedicated as a war memorial in its own right. Thanks to First GBRf there is once again a focal point for the honouring of the Railway employees who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.


Claude Stanley Choules

This Remembrance Day is all the more remarkable in that there is only one British Serviceman who fought in the Great War still alive. The total number of participating personnel in WW1 is estimated by the Encyclopaedia Britannica at 65,038,810 and from this number there were approximately 9,750,103 military deaths during the conflict. The only British veteran still alive is Claude Stanley Choules (born 3 March 1901) who, at age 109, one of the last three confirmed World War I veterans in the world, and is the last living witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. He is also the last living veteran to have served in both world wars, and the last seaman from the first. Choules is also the only remaining British male World War I veteran (the last female veteran being Florence Green), and the last World War I veteran living in Australia. He is the last living combatant of World War I. He is also the fourth oldest military veteran in the world. Choules became the oldest man born in the United Kingdom following the death of Stanley Lucas on 21 June 2010. All in all a quiet remarkable man who was swimming daily up to the age of a hundred. Like many elderly veterans he is decidedly pacifist regarding war as tragic and wasteful and has avoided Armistice ceremonies for some time.



Next Sunday 14th November Remembrance Sunday is commemorated at the Cenotaph in London, the 90th commemoration since the end of WW1. On the Sunday nearest to November 11th at 11am each year, a Remembrance Service is held at the Cenotaph to commemorate British and Commonwealth servicemen and women who died in the two World Wars and later conflicts. The Queen, religious leaders, politicians, representatives of state and the armed and auxiliary forces, gather to pay respect to those who gave their lives defending others. The service has changed little since it was first introduced in 1921, hymns are sung, prayers are said and a two minute silence is observed. Official wreaths are laid on the steps of The Cenotaph. The ceremony ends with a march past of war veterans; a poignant gesture of respect for their fallen comrades. In recognition of its service in WW1 when staff ran logistics services for the Western Front and WW2 when thousands sheltered in Tube Stations and both Tube and Bus services kept going through the Blitz the London Transport Old Comrades Association is the only civilian group allowed to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph as well as march alongside the armed forces.



This year Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group, commenting on Transport for London’s plans to close several tube lines serving central London on Remembrance Sunday said: "Thousands of veterans and their families will wish to come into central London to take part in the Remembrance Sunday events at the Cenotaph. It is simply disgraceful that so many tube lines will be closed on this very important day, making access difficult if not impossible for veterans, their families and others wishing to honour our armed forces."




Cenotaph, Whitehall, London

Originally intended as a small part of the Peace Day events of July 1919, the Cenotaph was designed and built by Edwin Lutyens at the request of the then Prime Minister Lloyd George. Literally meaning 'Empty Tomb' in Greek, The Cenotaph was initially a wood and plaster construction intended for the first anniversary of the Armistice in 1919. At its unveiling the base of the monument was spontaneously covered in wreaths to the dead and missing from The Great War. Such was the extent of public enthusiasm for the construction it was decided that The Cenotaph should become a permanent and lasting memorial. Made from Portland stone, it was unveiled in 1920 with the inscription which reads simply "The Glorious Dead".