Remembrance Sunday 2009: Services held across the UK

November 8, 2009 by Baby Chums
Filed under: News

Across the UK Remembrance Sunday events were held for those who have lost their lives in war.

It’s primarily the Sunday nearest to 11 November, which is the anniversary of the end of the hostilities of the First World War at 11 a.m. in 1918.

Televised by the BBC each year since 1946, here’s a round-up of some of the Remembrance day ceremonies around the UK:

At 11:00 GMT a gunshot from naval vessel HMS Nelson sounded in Portsmouth
A two-minute silence fell across the UK
Wreathes were laid at war memorials and public buildings in Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire and Oxfordshire, as young and old stood side-by-side together.
The Queen laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph memorial in central London.

Hundreds gathered at the war memorial in Watts Park, Southampton where the Last Post was heard to mark the two-minute silence.

Wreaths were laid at three services in the New Forest at St Matthews Parish Church, in Netley Marsh; St Michaels and All Angels Church in Lyndhurst; and at St Luke’s Parish Church, Sway.

Gosport Silver Band provided the service music at Gosport’s War Memorial Hospital, with the guard provided by HMS Sultan and Vice Admiral Sir Roy Newman.

Dorset held a parade in Bournemouth from the town hall to the War Memorial in the gardens.

Events were also held in Poole Park, Poole; and in Christchurch, a parade travelled from the mayor’s parlour to the Priory.

Wreaths were also laid in Bracknell, Berkshire, at the war memorial in the town centre; and in Windsor, the mayor, councillor Jesse Grey, led the Act of Remembrance at the war memorial in the High Street.

Meanwhile the main remembrance parade in Reading was held at the TA Centre in Brock Barracks.

Across Oxfordshire events were held in Abingdon, where the mayor, Patrick Lonergan, led the service of remembrance in the parish church.

At Didcot, a parade went from Edinburgh Drive and up Broadway to the war memorial behind the Civic Hall, where the Act of Remembrance was held.

Paper poppies were sold across the country in the weeks before today by the Royal British Legion, in order to raise money to support ex-servicemen, women and families affected by war, close to home or at the opposite end of the world. The goal was to raise £31.5 million this year.

Thousands of Twitter users were encouraged to hold a two-minute silence at #2minutesilence. @PoppySupport is the official Twitter feed for The Royal British Legion.