Remembrance Day is a day of remembrance for all those who have died in war. It takes place on 11th November, the day that World War 1 ended, with the country observing a minute of silence at 11am as a time for reflection. Whilst the day first started as a commemoration of World War 1, today it is used to reflect on all wars that have ended or are ongoing.
Poppies have become a key symbol of Remembrance Day because they grew out of the battlefields during World War 1. The Royal British Legion started selling poppies in 1921 raising over £100,000 to help war veterans with housing and jobs.
In Whitehall, thousands of servicemen and women march past the Cenotaph [derived from the Greek meaning ‘empty tomb’ and designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens]. It was unveiled in 1920 as the UK’s national memorial to the dead of Britain and the British Empire of World War 1, being re-dedicated in 1946 to include those of World War 2 and has since come to represent the Commonwealth casualties from those and subsequent conflicts.
Local parades also happen across the country.
At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we will remember them.
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