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End of a generation: Queen pays tribute to the last WWI veterans
Terry Kirby and Amar Singh11 Nov 2009
The passing of the First World War generation was marked by a special memorial service at Westminster Abbey today as millions of people across Britain and Europe observed the two-minute Armistice Day silence.
Ninety-one years after the guns fell silent at 11am on 11 November, 1918, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh joined Gordon Brown, senior politicians and the heads of the armed forces in the solemn ceremony which commemorated the passing of the final three veterans of the war living in Britain, who all died this year.
William Stone died in January, aged 108, followed in July by Henry Allingham, 113, and Harry Patch, 111. The only remaining British-born survivor of the war, former seaman Claude Choules, who is 108, lives in Australia.
In pictures: Britain marks Armistice Day
In ceremonies given added poignancy by the high death toll this year of British troops in Afghanistan, Armistice Day was also marked at the Armed Forces Memorial in Staffordshire and the British headquarters in Helmand province, Afghanistan.In Trafalgar Square crowds cast paper poppies into the fountains. Other events were held around Europe and on the First World War battlefields in Flanders.
In London, the beginning and end of the two-minute silence was signalled by gunfire from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, fired from Horse Guards.
Relatives and friends of the three men were in the congregation at the Abbey. Among them was Anne Davidson, the daughter of Mr Stone — a former Royal Navy chief petty officer, who read a passage from the Bible.
Delivering the sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, described the First World War as a “huge collective bereavement” and praised the achievement of the 1914-18 generation in repairing the “shattered idealism” that characterised the post-war period.
But he also warned of the “readiness to forget the hard lessons learned by those who had been on the front line.” He concluded: “The generation that has passed walked forward with vision and bravery, and held together the bonds of our society, our continent, our Commonwealth, through a terrible century. May we learn the lessons they learned, and God save us from learning them in the way they had to.”
The Queen placed a poppy wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior after it was carried through the Abbey by Victoria Cross holders Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry and Trooper Mark Donaldson. A Royal Marines bugler sounded Last Post followed by Reveille and the choir sang The Peace That Surpasseth Understanding, written for the occasion by Sir John Tavener.
Earlier, actor Jeremy Irons read the poem Last Post, by the new poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, to mark the deaths of the three men. The choir also sang Agnus Dei from Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, which uses the words from war poet Wilfred Owen's At a Calvary Near The Ancre. His nephew, Peter Owen, was among those present. Also present were former prime ministers Lady Thatcher and Sir John Major; Tony Blair was in the Middle East.
At the British Legion's commemoration in Trafalgar Square, there were performances from singer Cerys Matthews, rock group Athlete and Mark Knopfler before the square fell silent for two minutes at 11am.
Hundreds of people turned to face Nelson's Column, many bowing their heads low in respect. At the end of the two minutes, Major Phil Packer, who was injured in Iraq and has spent the last three years raising money for Help for Heroes, said: “When you go home, tell them of us. For your tomorrow, we gave up our today.”
Hazel Walker, 53, from Islington, brought her son Alex, 18. She said: “Teenagers can benefit from seeing what people of his age have gone through in the past. People are now thinking more about the price of conflict and Afghanistan has given this all an immediacy.” In Paris, Angela Merkel become the first German Chancellor in history to commemorate her country's defeat in the First World War in the French capital, which was occupied by the Germans in the Second World War. She joined President Nicolas Sarkozy at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, below the Arc de Triomphe.
In pictures: Britain marks Armistice Day
Reader views (12)
I take no notice of these "tributes" paid by the so called Royalty because to them, it is something that is expected of them every year giving the male members the chance to wear medals they have never earned.
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK, 11/11/2009 17:53
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"Old soldiers never die; they simply fide a-why!"
That's what they used to sing along the roads
last spring;
That's what they used to say before the push began;
That's where they are to-day, knocked over to a man.
Siegfried Sassoon
- Frank, Copenhagen, Denmark, 11/11/2009 15:19
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Before the Charge
The night is still and the air is keen,
Tense with menace the time crawls by,
In front is the town and its homes are seen,
Blurred in outline against the sky.
The dead leaves float in the sighing air,
The darkness moves like a curtain drawn,
A veil which the morning sun will tear
From the face of death.-We charge at dawn.
Patrick Macgill
- Frank, Copenhagen, Denmark, 11/11/2009 15:14
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It's fitting that Henry Allingham and his two mates have finally passed on. They've been saved seeing the country their chums died for finally losing it's sovereignty.
- Richard, London, 11/11/2009 14:22
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Looking at the state of this nation now a lot of the victims would have questioned whether the sacrifice was worth it.
- Steve, London, 11/11/2009 13:44
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"Enriched by their sacrifice,
Improverished by their loss,
Eternal Gratitude from their successors"
Hector Quine 2009
- Hector Quine, Stoke-by-Nayland, UK, 11/11/2009 12:49
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I will think of these brave men along with men like my Great Uncle who in spite of medals for bravery, suffered terribly as a result of the First World War and sadly ended his life some several years later. I have read his final letter to his parents and his words (too personal to relate here) summed up the horror and sacrifice of war. Armistice Day is a poignant reminder that we owe everything to these brave men and 2 minutes out of our day to be silent is the least we can do. May they all rest in peace.
- Francesca Quine, London, UK, 11/11/2009 12:46
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It was fitting that Harry Patch and the other last WWI veterans who passed away in recent months didn't have to see their beloved U.K. change from country to province (E.U. Constitution, aka Lisbon Treaty). They fought so bravely to defend the U.K. as a self-governing country! Why? Just to see self-government given away by a small elitist group, without any say on the matter from the other 60,000,000. All veterans who have fought for retention of independent self-government for the U.K. have been betrayed. In a matter of weeks we shall be in a new country of 400,000,000, with offshore mandates pouring in that many on this island will abhor. Why on earth have the British put up with losing their right of self-government? It's very baffling, given those who went off so bravely to defend it.
- Phil Jones, London UK, 11/11/2009 12:44
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We will remember them.
- Dave, London, 11/11/2009 12:29
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Today, at the Armistice Day Ceremony at our village Memorial,the Leader of the Ex-Soldiers Association came up to me and thanked us on behalf of the French People for attending their service. We were noticeable by our poppies. He expressed surprise that the Ceremony was held on the second Sunday in November. It is a shame that it cannot be held on the correct day in England.
- Paul Bradford, Monflanquin, France, 11/11/2009 12:28
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I agree Roz. It should be a national holiday. If we want to teach the younger generation any lesson it should be about self-sacrifice and the consequences of war.
- Mark, London, 10/11/2009 21:55
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I can't believe this is even a matter of debate - here in France the 11th is a National Holiday and every village in the country has a ceremony at the war memorial. Just as it does on VE Day, too. But then, most people here have a direct personal link to both world wars and don't want to sweep so much suffering and loss under the carpet because it interfers with their business meetings/trip to the supermarket/daytime television.
- Roz, France, 10/11/2009 14:06
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