Armistice Day

What is Armistice Day

Armistice Day is celebrated every year on 11 November to commemorate the peace agreement signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I. This took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918.

Although this “official” date to mark the end of the Great War reflects the ceasefire on the Western Front - hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire.

In the UK the day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I.

The date was also declared a national holiday in many allied countries also to commemorate those members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I with the exception of Italy. In Italy the end of the war is commemorated on 4 November - the day of the Armistice of Villa Giusti.

After World War II the name of the holiday was changed in different countries:

America - Verterans Day 

Countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations – Remembrance Day

France and Belgium - Armistice Day

The Significance of the Poppy

The red remembrance poppy has become a very familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields".

These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

In Flanders Field

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.

How is Armistice Day Commemorated in the UK?

In the United Kingdom two minutes of silence are observed on 11 November every year (whatever day of the week the date falls in) however the main observance is on the second Sunday of November - Remembrance Sunday. The beginning and end of the two minutes' silence is often marked in large towns and cities by the firing of ceremonial cannon however if a cannon is not available “The Last Post” is played on a bugle to introduce the start of the two minutes silence whilst the sounding of “Reveille” ends the two minutes silence. Also church services frequently incorporate one minute's or two minutes' silence within their Sunday service.

Second Sunday of November:

The Queen laying a wreath at the Cenotaph

Ceremonies are held at local war memorials throughout the country and are usually organised by local branches of the Royal British Legion. The Royal British Legion is an association for ex-servicemen. Typically poppy wreaths are laid by representatives of the Crown (the Royal Family) / the armed forces and local civic leaders (such as the Mayor of the town / city or head of the local parish). Local organisations such as: ex-servicemen organisations / cadet forces / the Scouts  / Guides / Boys' Brigade / St John Ambulance and the Salvation Army are also involved.

11^th November:

Wreath-laying ceremonies are observed at many war memorials across the UK at 11 a.m. on the 11th of November led by the Royal British Legion. 

Wreath laying in a local village

Many employers and businesses invite their staff and customers to observe the two minutes' silence at 11:00 am both on the second Sunday of November and 11^th November (if the Remembrance Day falls on a different day)  

The First Ever Two Minute Silence in London

The Silence

“The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition. Someone took off his hat, and with a nervous hesitancy the rest of the men bowed their heads also. Here and there an old soldier could be detected slipping unconsciously into the posture of 'attention'. An elderly woman, not far away, wiped her eyes, and the man beside her looked white and stern. Everyone stood very still ... The hush deepened. It had spread over the whole city and become so pronounced as to impress one with a sense of audibility. It was a silence which was almost pain ... And the spirit of memory brooded over it all. “

Manchester Guardian, November 12^th 1919 – thanks to:

http://www.thetwominutesilence.co.uk

Written by: Andria Owen