Britain falls silent to remember war dead

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae: In Flanders Fields (1915)

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Canadian poet John McCrae was a medical officer in both the Boer War and World War I. A year into the latter war he published in Punch magazine, on December 8, 1915, the sole work by which he would be remembered. This poem commemorates the deaths of thousands of young men who died in Flanders during the grueling battles there. It created a great sensation, and was used widely as a recruiting tool, inspiring other young men to join the Army. Legend has it that he was inspired by seeing the blood-red poppies blooming in the fields where many friends had died. In 1918 McCrae died at the age of 46, in the way most men died during that war, not from a bullet or bomb, but from disease: pneumonia, in his case.

Britain falls silent to remember war dead

Eleventh Hour of Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month of the Eleventh Year in the Twenty-First Century

The tribute started at 11am, the time the guns on the Western Front fell silent at the end of the First World War in 1918.

Ceremonies nationwide commemorated fallen servicemen and women from both World Wars and later conflicts, including the 385 British personnel who have died since operations began in Afghanistan in 2001.

The silence was particularly poignant for those at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, who are mourning the loss of the latest soldier to die on active service.

Private Matthew Thornton, 28, from the 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, was killed by an IED while on patrol in Babaji on Wednesday.

His family paid tribute to him last night as a "dedicated soldier" who "loved life".

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond marked the 93rd Armistice Day with thousands service personnel who took part in a special parade at the vigil site at Camp Bastion.

Soldiers serving in Nad e-Ali in Afghanistan paused during a short vigil service to pay tribute to those who have died in action.

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