This Is Why We Celebrate Remembrance Sunday

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Across the UK, services will be taking place later today to honour all those who have died in conflict as part of Remembrance Sunday.

A two-minute silence will be held at 11am GMT to commemorate those who passed in the two World Wars and the 12,000 British servicemen killed or injured since 1945.

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Numerous cities across the country dedicate a day to distributing poppies with The Royal British Legion, as part of their biggest fundraising campaign held every November, the period of Remembrance. This raises vital funds to help the Armed Forces community.

Poppies are used as the iconic symbol of remembrance as they were the first flowers to grow in the Northern France and Flanders battlefields at the end of the First World War.

The Queen will lead the ceremonies at the Cenotaph in London, with Prime Minister Theresa May and other political party leaders also in attendance.

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More than 700 soldiers, sailors and RAF members will line Whitehall, alongside units of the Royal Marines, Household Cavalry and Royal Gurkha Rifles.

Images of poppies will also be projected onto the Queen Elizabeth tower at Parliament later this afternoon.

Elsewhere in the UK, a staggering 40,000 knitted poppies have been placed on a parade route in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, with have been sent in from all over the world.

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Also in Croydon, where seven people were killed and 50 injured after a tram derailed earlier this week, special prayers will be said for those affected.

For many, this day is associated with those who died in the First and Second World Wars, but while we will always remember them The Royal British Legion is asking all of us to Rethink Remembrance, and support a new generation of veterans and Service personnel who need our support.

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A sentiment echoed by Prime Minister Theresa May, who has said that today isn’t only about honouring the dead, but paying tribute to our armed forces who are currently on duty, fighting the so-called Islamic State.

She said:

The way of life we enjoy today depends upon the service offered by members of the armed forces and their families. Across generations, and in every corner of the UK, today we remember those who gave so much for our values, our democracy, and our nation.

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Our thoughts are with those who lost their lives in conflicts both past and present.

Lest we forget.

UNILAD