Wubi News

In pictures: Europe marks Armistice Day with two-minute silence

2024-11-11 21:00:39
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh led the service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire

Armistice Day has been marked with two minutes silence across the UK and in Europe.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer joined an event in Paris, while Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh led the ceremony at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Sir Keir and the French president laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital.

Across the UK, the traditional two-minute silence at 11:00 on 11 November was observed. It marks the time and date when the World War One armistice came into effect.

Kier Starmer (centre), the British PM, stands with his French counterpart Michel Barnier and France's President Emmanuel Macron (right) in Paris
Men at the service in Remembrance garden in Edinburgh
People look at wreaths in the Remembrance garden
There was a gathering in Market Square in Dover to mark Armistice Day
Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle at a service in Westminster Hall, London
A service in Liverpool

While the Armistice Day tradition began as a way of commemorating those killed in World War One, it is now used to remember all the people killed in wars since then.

As well as the event in Staffordshire, events taking place across the UK included Bristol, Cambridge, Nottingham, Liverpool, and Dover.

An event was also held at Westminster, attended by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

In Wales, Carmarthenshire council said it would illuminate County Hall on Armistice Day evening to "reflect and remember the sacrifices of our armed forces, and all those whose lives have been lost in conflict and acts of terror".

Over the weekend, Remembrance Sunday events were held across the UK.

King Charles led the nation in two minutes of silence in remembrance of men and women who lost their lives serving in the two world wars or other conflicts.