Remembrance Day: We remember everyone . . . and everyone must remember

Published on Thursday 11 November 2010 17:11

THEY stood in train stations and on city streets, in gardens and cemeteries, each with their own thoughts of the war dead and all part of the deafening sound of silence. For two minutes a rare stillness blanketed Britain at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, as millions marked Remembrance Day.

In London, a service was held at the Cenotaph memorial, exactly 90 years since the body of an unknown British soldier exhumed from a grave on the Western Front and encased in a coffin of oak was laid in state, the first stage in a journey to become an international icon of the tragedy of war.

In South Korea, David Cameron, the Prime Minister, laid a wreath at the site of the British Army's bloodiest battle since the end of the Second World War at the Imjin River, while in Scotland, at the Veterans home in Erskine, Joseph Rorrison, 87, who always carries a list of the names of all the men who died under his command while serving with 46 Commando during the Second World War, bowed his head in respect. Mr Rorrison, who was born in Port Glasgow, said after the service: "I don't need any reminding. I remember everyone. Everyone should remember."

Yesterday many did. At Glasgow's central station, travellers stood in silent respect, as did visitors to the Scott Monument on Princes Street in Edinburgh, while in the Scottish Parliament, MSPs and others gathered in the building's main chamber and garden lobby to observe the silence.

At Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, thousands of people braved heavy rain to pay their respects at a Remembrance Day parade. The Poppy Day event coincided with a homecoming parade for 200 RAF and army personnel. They were clapped and cheered as they paraded along the town's High Street to the war memorial for the two-minute silence. Standard-bearers lowered their military flags at 11am as relatives laid wreaths on the war memorial.

• Muslims chant abuse and burn poppy during silence

The service at the Cenotaph was attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury, defence ministers, representatives of military associations, veterans and schoolchildren.

Led by Brother Nigel Cave, the Western Front Association's padre, it involved wreaths being laid at the monument in Whitehall.

A bugler from the Scots Guards heralded the start of the silence at exactly 11am by playing the Last Post, while its completion was marked by the Reveille.Wearing a beret and the medals of his great-great-uncle who lost his life in the Second World War, seven-year-old Jonny Osborne, from New Southgate, London, placed a cross with poppies at the monument that read: "Thank you, not forgetting."

Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, of the Royal Marines Reserve, who was awarded the George Cross for bravery after he threw himself on a bomb to smother the explosion while serving in Afghanistan in February 2008, also attended.

The 26-year-old, from Birmingham, survived the blast unhurt. After the service, he said: "People in the military don't really ask for much but just to have the support of the crowds here, it means a lot more than anything else.

"As long as that public support is there, people will continue to serve their country."

Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, said: "It's essential for every generation to recognise the sacrifices made by those who have given their lives in past conflicts for our security. Today's spontaneous public applause and the presence of school- children shows the tremendous testament of respect with which our armed forces are held."

At the Royal British Legion Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey, the Duke of Edinburgh joined old soldiers, servicemen and families to remember the nation's war dead. The Duke, a former Royal Navy officer, placed a tiny wooden cross - printed with his cipher and the words "In remembrance 2010" - into a large wreath made of poppies.

Inside the abbey, a ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the funeral of the Unknown Warrior was held. The remains of thousands of First World War servicemen were never found and the Grave of the Unknown Warrior came to symbolise lost loved ones for many.

The Royal British Legion hosted Silence in the Square, giving people the chance to take part in the two-minute silence to remember troops past and present, and share in music, readings and entertainment. The event in London's Trafalgar Square was attended by The Saturdays, the female pop band, and the actors Keeley Hawes and Ben Barnes.

The Prime Minister, who was in South Korea for the G20 summit, spent several minutes in contemplation at the memorial dedicated to the men of the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, 93 of whom died during the battle or in captivity after being cut off by Chinese communist forces during the three-day battle in 1951. The battalion's defensive efforts ultimately helped prevent a direct assault on the capital, Seoul.

At the Erskine Home in Bishopton, near Glasgow, veterans from conflicts spanning more than 50 years stood together. Among the oldest was Alex Heron, 91, who was with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders and was captured during the fighting around Tobruk in 1942.Mr Heron, who was born in Glasgow and joined the army in 1937, was freed at the end of the Second World War in 1945.

Now a resident at the Bishopton home, he said: "You remember all your friends, all my pals, in the firing line. They were all maybe getting wounded or shot dead or something like that. In Egypt, the Desert Rats they called us, there were a lot of sandstorms. You had to wear a gas mask and you didn't know where you were going. I was there for about three years fighting. We captured Tobruk and then a couple of days later we were surrounded by the Germans and the Italians and I was a prisoner of war."

Donald Campbell, 42, an ex-regimental sergeant major who served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan, was also at the service in Bishopton. Asked what Remembrance Day meant to him, Mr Campbell, who lives in Livingston, said: "There are certain dates where I've lost comrades and friends, certain things have happened. I think about these people, particularly during the two-minute silence. I think this day is very special because it is a united grief where the whole country comes together. It doesn't matter what religion, colour, creed or wherever you come from, we all should remember the past and also what's going on at the moment."

Father-of-one Mr Campbell, who joined the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in 1984 at 16 and left the army in July this year, now works for the charity Erskine. He said: "I run supported transition, where I take vulnerable service-leavers - people who have left the service who are struggling to find their way in civilian life. The idea of it is to try and catch them before the downhill part. However, some of the boys are not so fortunate and I'm picking them out at the bottom.

"A lot of them, 99 per cent, are fine, when they return to civilian street, because they go back to strong families and they've got their own good lives ahead of them, but you find a lot of boys have got problems."

The rain poured down as the names of 86 people were read out before the two-minute silence at the Bishopton home. The 86 were veterans who lived at the Erskine homes around Bishopton who had passed away since November 11 last year.

The rain stopped just as the two-minute silence began.