The Queen has led the Remembrance Sunday
service at the Cenotaph in London, as commemorations are held across the UK in
honour of those who died in wars and conflicts.
Thousands of current and former military
personnel joined the Queen, together with the main party leaders, who have laid
wreaths.
Prince William had earlier attended a
service of remembrance in Afghanistan.
The British Legion says it has sold a
record 46 million poppies this year.
Commemorations have been given added
significance this year by another 12 months of heavy UK military losses in
Afghanistan.
This year also marks the 90th
anniversary of both the Cenotaph and the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, who was
interred in Westminster Abbey.
As Big Ben struck 11, the crowds along
Whitehall lowered their heads.
Rows of veterans in blazers and berets –
and wearing the medals of conflicts past and present – stiffened, their
faces impassive.
In the crowds facing the Cenotaph, a
mother shushed her baby’s cries. A young girl, her poppy woven into her hair,
climbed up onto the barrier to get a better look.
They had come from all over the UK. One
man said he’d got up at 4am to drive from Sheffield with his grandson. “I
watch it on the TV every year,” he said. “But this time, I wanted to
be here in person.”
Elsewhere, four generations of the same
family from Essex watched side by side. The eldest had fought in World War II,
the youngest – his great-grandson, aged 10 – stood proudly on a folding step so
he could see over people’s shoulders.
Among the veterans was Ronald Meade, 89,
of the Burma Star Association. The widower from Derbyshire said he’d been
chosen to carry the wreath this year “because our numbers are
dwindling”.
He added: “But as long as I’ve got
my health, I’ll keep coming.”
Following the two minutes silence at
1100 GMT, the Queen was the first to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph, followed by
other members of the Royal Family, Prime Minister David Cameron, Liberal
Democrat leader Nick Clegg, and opposition leader Ed Miliband.
Leaders of Scottish, Welsh and Northern
Ireland political parties also laid floral tributes, as did defence chiefs, and
High Commissioners from Commonwealth countries.
About 4,500 ex-servicemen and women
marched past the Cenotaph, led by veterans of the Korean War.
Some 2,500 British personal took part in
the service at Camp Bastion, which was also attended by Defence Secretary Liam
Fox.
Dr Fox said: “I am extremely proud
that Prince William and I could come to Camp Bastion to stand alongside the men
and women serving in Afghanistan today.
“I pay tribute to them, and
everyone who has served before them in this conflict and others on behalf of
the freedoms that the British people enjoy.”
Padre Andrew Earl of the Royal
Engineers, who joined in the Camp Bastion remembrance, told the BBC that troops
in Afghanistan greatly valued all the services that are taking part across the
UK.
He added: “The moment of silence
gives us as individuals, and collectively, the opportunity to stand with our
coalition allies to remember our friends and colleagues who have fallen in this
conflict.
“But also those who are still out
on the ground in this conflict facing danger today. It also links us to members
of our regiment who have fallen in previous conflicts.”
Remembrance Sunday was also marked in
other Commonwealth countries including Malta and Sri Lanka, as well as at
British war cemeteries across the world.
The British Legion has made the theme of
this year’s Poppy Appeal the “Afghan generation” of the armed forces
and their families.
A British Legion spokesman said demand
for poppies had been so great that it had had to dip into next year’s supply.
Elsewhere across the UK, HMS Ark Royal
crew members led a parade as part of Glasgow’s ceremony in George Square, while
a service was held in Glasgow Cathedral. And ceremony was held at the Stone of
Remembrance on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile.
In Belfast, tributes at the city hall
were led by the Lord Mayor while in Cardiff a march by the armed forces and
veterans organisations was followed by a service at the Welsh National War
Memorial in Cathays Park.
A series of ceremonies are also taking
place in Coventry to commemorate the 70th anniversary of a German bombing raid
in World War II that devastated the city.
A remembrance service at Coventry
Cathedral was attended by dignitaries including the German ambassador and the
Mayor of Dresden.
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