London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Aug 13, 2025

Armistice Day: UK gathers for remembrance of deaths in military conflicts

Armistice Day: UK gathers for remembrance of deaths in military conflicts

The UK has come together for Armistice Day, a year after ceremonies were disrupted by the pandemic.

The Duchess of Cornwall laid a cross amid the poppies at the Field of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey.

And delegates at the COP26 summit in Glasgow stopped to observe a two-minute silence at 11:00 GMT to commemorate those who died in military conflicts.

Remembrance in 2020 had been reduced by Covid rules with people encouraged to stay home and remember the fallen.

With no restrictions now remaining, events took place again across the UK this year.

Camilla - who was representing the Royal Family at the commemorations - observed the silence ahead of the opening of the 93rd Field of Remembrance, which will be accessible to the public until 21 November.

A single gun was fired from Edinburgh Castle as local government officials there joined members of the armed forces laying wreaths at the Scott Monument.

The silence was also observed at the Field of Remembrance at Belfast's City Hall, at the cenotaph in the centre of Derry and at Cathays Park in Cardiff.

Meanwhile, a service took place at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Camilla joined the service outside Westminster Abbey...

....as poppy wreaths were laid at the nearby Cenotaph


COP26 president Alok Sharma, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres stood in silence at the climate summit in Glasgow

1st Battalion of The Duke Of Lancaster's Regiment march through the streets of Liverpool before the city observed the two-minute silence at 1100


A two-minute silence is held every year on 11 November at 11:00 GMT to mark the end of World War One in 1918.

The silence is held then because the end of hostilities between Germany and the Allies was declared "on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month".

The traditional symbol of remembrance is the poppy, with people wearing pins and laying wreaths of them in tribute.

When is Remembrance Sunday?


Remembrance Sunday - observed on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day - features the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. It will be held this Sunday.

The Queen is expected to pay tribute at the ceremony, alongside other members of the Royal Family, serving and former members of the armed forces, representatives of Commonwealth nations and senior British politicians.

Like Armistice Day, Remembrance Sunday will see the nation fall silent at 11:00 to remember the war dead.

The Duchess of Cornwall met veterans and armed forces representatives at Westminster Abbey

The centre of Belfast fell silent at 1100

Shoppers observed the two-minute silence in Liverpool


In London, hundreds of wreaths have travelled to major stations from around the UK and overseas from locations including the Falkland Islands, as part of the Poppies to Paddington and Routes of Remembrance campaigns by The Veterans Charity.

One has already toured the UK and on Thursday travelled up the Thames, before being taken to the Tower of London on board HMS Belfast - a surviving World War Two Navy warship.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson posted a photograph on social media showing him observing the two-minute silence at Downing Street.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who observed the silence at the Cenotaph, and tweeted thanking "everyone who has served, and continues to serve, in our armed forces".



The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge tweeted a photograph of the Field of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum - with William and Catherine adding a message "remembering the armed forces, and their families, from Britain and the Commonwealth, for the vital role played by the emergency services & those that have lost their lives as a result of conflict".

On Saturday, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will lead other members of the Royal Family at the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall.

The Queen has confirmed she will not be at the annual event organised by the Royal British Legion forces charity, after doctors advised her to rest for two weeks. But she said it was her "firm intention" to attend the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph the following day.

During an engagement in Brixton, south London, for his Prince's Trust charity, a man asked the Prince of Wales about the Queen. Prince Charles gave him a pat on the arm, and appeared to say: "She's alright, thank you."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
U.S. Investigation Reports No Russian Interference in Romanian Election First Round
Oasis Reunion Tour Linked to Temporary Rise in UK Inflation
Musk Alleges Apple Favors OpenAI in App Store Rankings
Denmark Revives EU ‘Chat Control’ Proposal for Encrypted Message Scanning
US Teen Pilot Reaches Deal to Leave Chile After Unauthorized Antarctic Landing
Trump considers lawsuit against Powell over Fed renovation costs
Trump Criticizes Goldman Sachs Over Tariff Cost Forecasts
Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer for Google’s Chrome browser
Kodak warns of liquidity crisis as debt obligations loom
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album on Travis Kelce’s podcast after high-profile year together
South Korean court orders arrest of former First Lady Kim Keon Hee on bribery and corruption allegations
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
JD Vance to meet Tory MP Robert Jenrick and Reform’s Nigel Farage on UK visit
Trump and Putin Meeting: Focus on Listening and Communication
Instagram Released a New Feature – and Sent Users Into a Panic
China Accuses: Nvidia Chips Are U.S. Espionage Tools
Mercedes’ CEO Is Killing Germany’s Auto Legacy
Trump Proposes Land Concessions to End Ukraine War
New Road Safety Measures Proposed in the UK: Focus on Eye Tests and Stricter Drink-Driving Limits
Viktor Orbán Criticizes EU's Financial Support for Ukraine Amid Economic Concerns
South Korea's Military Shrinks by 20% Amid Declining Birthrate
US Postal Service Targets Unregulated Vape Distributors in Crackdown
Duluth International Airport Running on Tech Older Than Your Grandmother's Vinyl Player
RFK Jr. Announces HHS Investigation into Big Pharma Incentives to Doctors
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Security flaws in a carmaker’s web portal let one hacker remotely unlock cars from anywhere
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Trump Urges Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan to Resign Over Alleged Chinese Business Ties
Scotland’s First Minister Meets Trump Amid Visit Highlighting Whisky Tariffs, Gaza Crisis and Heritage Links
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
×