The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month
'For the Fallen'
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.
Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943))
The signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, signalled the end of World War One.
At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.
Rememberance Day is a special day set aside to remember all those men and women who were killed during the two World Wars and other conflicts. At one time the day was known as Armistice Day and was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War.
On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 the guns fell silent bringing to end the bloody carnage of the First World War.This was not the end of the pain and suffering for the families of those who had fallen or those that had fought and were maimed both physically and mentally.
The first official poppy appeal began on the 11th November 1921 and the poppy was chosen because during some of the most bloodiest battles fought in Flanders and Picardy the poppy was the only living thing that grew in no mans land. Dr John McCrae of the Canadian army was so moved after witnessing the bloody battle of Ypres in 1915 he wrote :
In Flanders' Fields
In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' Fields.
John McCrae
(1872 – 1918)
The Nation Remembers
Remembrance Day and the Two Minute Silence have been observed since the end of the First World War, but their relevance remains undiminished. When we bow our heads in reflection, we remember those who fought for our freedom during the two World Wars. But we also mourn and honour those who have lost their lives in more recent conflicts. Today, with troops on duty in Afghanistan and other trouble spots around the world, Remembrance, and this two minute tribute, are as important as ever. Rememberance Sunday is a time for all of us to show our respect and honour those that gave the ultimate sacrafice.