Armistice 1918

On 11 November 1918 the Armistice was signed between the Allied and German armies, ending the First World War – a global war that lasted four years with the total human cost to Britain and the Empire of 3,049,972 casualties, including 658,705 dead.

Of all the millions of men who joined up to serve and defend the country, there are now no survivors in the UK. The last three stalwarts of the Great War. Harry Patch, Bill Stone and Henry Allingham all died during 2009. With their passing, the Great War has finally moved from living human memory to history.

Henry Allingham said: "These hellish memories of war are ones I'd rather forget. But never my comrades. Never the men who gave their everything." During a visit to a war cemetery in France, he was quoted as saying, "All of us must remember them, always."

At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Two Minute Silence is observed on Armistice Day, the day which marks the end of the First World War.

When we bow our heads in reflection, we remember those who fought for our freedom during both World Wars. But we also mourn and honour those who have lost their lives in more recent conflicts. Today, with troops on duty in Iraq, Afghanistan and other trouble spots around the world, Remembrance, and this two minute tribute, are as important as ever.