Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them.”

Who is “them” you may be wondering and what do these poignant words refer to?

These words refer to the British and Commonwealth military personnel who died during the first world war (1914 – 1918). It is not known exactly how many died, but it is thought to be just under one million, the vast majority were men.

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month 1918, the allies and Germany signed the Armistice (agreement to stop fighting) after four years of conflict and both sides laid down their weapons. However, the war did not officially end until the following year.

The 11th November became known as Armistice day (or Remembrance Day) and we still commemorate it today by wearing a poppy and holding a two minute silence at 11am on 11th November out of respect for those who were injured or died during the conflict. No matter where you are, you will see people stopping in the streets, shops, train stations, restaurants etc to remember. These two minutes give us an opportunity to think of them, the military personnel and to remind ourselves for our tomorrow, they gave their today.

There were many promises made after the first world war that there would never be such a war again, however the second world war came shortly after and lasted from 1939 to 1945. This war is widely recognised as the most lethal war in world history. During this war, it is thought just over half a million service men and women died fighting to protect our country. Just before the end of the second world war, another day to remember the fallen was announced by the Archbishop of Westminster who proposed the second Sunday in each November should commemorate both wars, this is known as Remembrance Sunday.

Although neither day is a religious event, many people will go to church on Remembrance Sunday, where there is a second two minute silence at 11am to give us an opportunity to think of them, the military personnel.

Why does a Poppy symbolise the remembrance period?

During the fighting of WW1, countryside was turned to mud, where little had a chance to grow, with one exception, the Flanders poppy. These flowers are resistant and like to grow in disturbed land, so they naturally flourished. Lieutenant Colonel John McRae lost a friend in Ypres, one of the battle fields, and was so moved by the poppies he wrote a poem called In Flanders Fields which described the poppies. There is a little more history than I can write here, but due to this poem, the poppy became the symbol of remembrance which we still use today.

The poppy, and both days have now become to mean more than remembering the men and women who fought during both world wars, “it honours those who still serve to defend our democratic freedoms and way of life today. It unites across faiths, cultures and backgrounds to remember the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community from Britain and the Commonwealth*”

So the next time you see a poppy seller, or someone wearing a poppy, please stop for a moment to think about the millions of lives lost through conflict and those who still serve to protect, and as written by John Maxwell Edmonds, a war time code breaker:

When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today.

*Quoted from the Royal British Legion website