BRITAIN: Millions of Britons observed a two-minute silence on Armistice Day yesterday to remember those who have died in war. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip each laid a cross at the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey in London and met many veterans.
One of the crosses was dedicated to the four members of the Scottish Black Watch battle group who have died in Iraq.
Armistice Day marks the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 when the guns of the first World War fell silent.
The Royal British Legion, which looks after the welfare of injured service personnel and the dependants of the dead, said about 45 million people observed the silence at 11 a.m. yesterday.
The event was also marked in several other countries, including France, Iraq and New Zealand.
In Britain, a fly-past organised by the legion dropped 1.3 million poppy petals above the River Thames yesterday evening.