10,000 march past Cenotaph in national thank you to the WWI fallen


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Thousands of people marched past the Cenotaph in central London to pay their own respects to the soldiers who fought in the First World War.

For the first time, after the Royal Family and Commonwealth representatives laid their wreaths, 10,000 people were able to walk past the memorial and lay their own tributes, remembering loved ones lost in the war.



Sky News spoke to several people who were paying their personal respects on the centenary of the World War One armistice.








2:11

Video:
Relatives share memories of WWI dead

The march was described as a “nation’s thank you”, and thousands of descendants of First World War soldiers were involved, including Jackie Sheridan, whose great-great-uncle Oliver Davies died when he was hit by a stray bullet near Jerusalem. He was just 21.

She said it would be an “emotional” day to see all 10,000 people marching together.

Wreaths have been laid at the Cenotaph on the centenary of the Armistice
Image:
Wreaths have been laid at the Cenotaph on the centenary of the Armistice

Ms Sheridan wore a Land Army badge which belonged to her grandmother Valda Davies.

Wiping away tears she said: “That was very important to her.”










5:13

Video:
A two minute silence was held around the country as the nation commemorates 100 years since the end of WWI.

Marion Lewis and her sister Dorothy Heslop marched for their grandfather, Private John Waters, of 23rd Battalion Middlesex Regiment.

A serious head wound at the Somme meant he was missing part of his skull. Like many war veterans, he did not speak about his experiences.



Prince Charles lays the Sovereign's wreath at the Cenotaph








2:11

Video:
Ceremonies marking the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War have taken place across the Europe.

Ms Heslop said: “They did not expect him to survive so they left him outside the medical tent and we think it’s the cold that probably saved him.”

Thousands who were marching started gathering at the Mall from 9am wearing poppies and holding their wreaths. They watched the main service at the Cenotaph on big screens, before falling silent with them at 11am.

Balls rang out to mark the celebration while the procession started. Those on the march were chosen by ballot.

Wreaths are laid on behalf of the public as they make their way past the Cenotaph in The People's Procession
Image:
Wreaths are laid on behalf of the public as they make their way past the Cenotaph

The Queen and Prince Charles led the service at the Cenotaph, with the Queen watching the morning’s proceedings from the balcony of the nearby Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Joining her were the Duchesses of Cornwall, Cambridge, and Sussex, who all watched on as their husband laid wreaths on the monument as part of the ceremony.

Prince Charles laid a wreath on behalf of his mother for the second year in a row, while an equerry laid one for Prince Philip, who did not attend this year, having retired from public service.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier became the first German leader to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph, marking the friendship that now exists between Britain and his nation.

The president was invited to attend by the Queen, on the advice of the government.

Veterans commemorate the centenary of the First World War
Image:
Veterans commemorate the centenary of the First World War

Prime Minister Theresa May and the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn also laid wreaths, along with the Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt and speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow.

Former prime ministers Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Sir John Major were also in attendance.

The Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Cambridge during the remembrance service at the Cenotaph memorial
Image:
The Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II and the Duchess of Cambridge during the remembrance service at the Cenotaph memorial

Although Big Ben has been silent for several months as repair works are undertaken, it rang out at 11am to mark 100 years since the Armistice was signed.

Meghan the Duchess of Sussex watched on from the balcony
Image:
Meghan the Duchess of Sussex watched on from the balcony

The end of the two-minute silence at 11am was marked with the Last Post, and cannon fire. Big Ben sounded again at 12.30pm, when it joined bells around the country and the world to echo the way the bells rang out when news of the Armistice spread.

Veterans and serving members of the armed forces gather to pay their respects in Fort William
Image:
Veterans and serving members of the armed forces gathered to pay their respects in Fort William

The day’s events finished with a service of thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey.

Around the rest of the country, Britain’s beaches were adorned with sand etchings of soldiers who died in the conflict, including poet Wilfred Owen.



A portrait of poet Wilfred Owen on Sunny Sands beach in Folkestone








1:07

Video:
The sand silhouettes come as the UK marks 100 years since the end of the First World War.

The national project called Pages of the Sea was the brainchild of filmmaker Danny Boyle and allowed communities to remember victims who were local to their towns.



Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May move to lay their wreaths








3:29

Video:
Britain falls silent in remembrance on the one hundredth anniversary of the end of World War One.

In Edinburgh, the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led commemorations, laying a wreath at the Stone of Remembrance outside the city chambers.

Guns fired 11 rounds from the city castle before falling silent.

Ms Sturgeon will be joined by the Princess Royal for a service in Glasgow Cathedral on Sunday evening.

From 5pm, the names of all the Scotsmen who died in the Great War will be beamed onto the Scottish Parliament building. It is expected to take seven hours to show each name of the 134,712 men and women who died.

In Enniskillen, Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster and Irish Government minister Heath Humphreys laid wreaths at the cenotaph, where hundreds gathered in the narrow streets to watch.

The town’s Remembrance Sunday events are particularly poignant after they were devastated by a Provisional IRA bomb in 1987, killing a total of 12 people.

The day’s events began with a bugler playing at Enniskillen Castle at 6am.

Belfast City Hall’s cenotaph also hosted a large event, with attendees including Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and Simon Coveney, Ireland’s deputy premier.

On Sunday evening, at 6.55pm, 1,000 buglers will sound the Last Post at First World War beacons of light locations.

Five minutes after that, more than 1,000 beacons will be lit to symbolise an end to darkness of war and a return to the light of peace. At 7.05pm, 1,000 cathedrals and churches will ring their bells together, with town criers joining with them in a cry for peace.

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