Armistice Day: Nation remembers war dead
A two-minute silence has been observed across the UK to remember the nation's war dead on Armistice Day.
The silence began at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month - the time in 1918 when the guns fell silent along the Western Front in Europe. War memorials, offices, schools, town halls, and churches all hosted events. The Princess Royal was at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, while veterans and serving personnel laid wreaths at the Cenotaph in London. In pictures: Armistice Day commemorations Trafalgar Square fills to remember the fallen In commemorations across the UK on Armistice Day: Armistice Day follows similar ceremonies on Remembrance Sunday to pay tribute to all those who died in World Wars One and Two and in every conflict since. The Queen led commemorations on Remembrance Sunday, but she is spending Armistice Day privately at Buckingham Palace with other members of the Royal Family. Military representatives joined Princess Anne at the National Memorial Arboretum. Its Portland stone memorial is designed so that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a shaft of sunlight dissects its inner and outer walls, falling on a bronze wreath sculpture. At the scene Liz Jackson, BBC News, in Trafalgar Square The crowds gathered under cloudy skies for the Royal British Legion's Silence in the Square event - they were made up of schoolchildren, ex-service personnel and passers-by who stopped to commemorate Armistice Day. The event was marked by a contrast of upbeat songs from the London Community Gospel Choir and a sombre reading of the poem, Remember Me, by actress Miranda Raison. The importance of remembrance was brought home when actor Bernard Cribbins, an ex-serviceman himself, gave a moving reading of Rudyard Kipling's poem, Tommy. Big screens allowed hundreds gathered at the edge of the square to see the events close up. Pop group the Overtones did not let technical problems on the stage stall them, continuing their performance a capella. Raymond Champion, 79, from London, served in the Army Catering Corps in World War Two. "I knew people who never came home," he said. "People forget, they don't know what they are letting go. They should respect the people that fought for their freedoms." 'I knew people who never came home' The Last Post: read about the story behind the Remembrance melody The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall attended a Remembrance Day ceremony in Canberra, as part of their current tour of Australia and New Zealand. The Prince of Wales met Malcolm Turnbull, the Australian prime minister who once led the campaign for the country to abandon the monarchy. Meanwhile, 19 British veterans were presented with France's highest distinction, the Légion d'honneur. The ceremony - at the French ambassador's residence in London - was the latest in a series since the 70th anniversary of D-Day, when French President François Hollande pledged to honour all those British veterans who had helped his country during World War Two. Ambassador Sylvie Bermann said it was France's way of "thanking them for their tremendous service". Armistice Day 100 years of remembrance: From World War One to today Did one man's vision shape the way we remember our war dead?