Armistice Day, The Two Minute Silence - Press Pack 2010
20 October 2010
A time for Silence, a time for Reflection …
The act of observing a Two Minute Silence began in 1919 following the Armistice at 11am on 11 November 1918 at the end of the First World War.
The observance of a silence, heads bowed in reflection and prayer - these and other solemn acts transcend boundaries and borders. In themselves, they may amount to small individual acts. Carried out at the same time, they can go from 'individual' to 'collective' - rare moments when whole nations can stand together, remember and reflect on the price and value of freedom.
"If we are to maintain our peace and freedom, we must always remember."
More than three quarters of the population are expected to pause for the Two Minute Silence at 11 am on 11 November, the moment the guns fell silent at the end of the First World War. This has become the biggest annual demonstration of public support for any cause in the country.
The success of The Royal British Legion's campaign for the reinstatement of the Two Minute Silence on Armistice Day - at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month - demonstrates the nation's concern that the human cost of war should not be forgotten.
Recent research carried out by YouGov on behalf of The Royal British Legion found that:
- 85% of Britons still think that the Two Minute Silence is relevant today.
- 81% of 18-29 year olds agreed that the silence is relevant to them.
- Over half of those surveyed said that during the silence they would be thinking of all conflicts, past and present.
- 30 to 50-year-olds were the most likely age group to associate the silence with the cost of conflict, past and present.
- Those in the over 50 age group were more likely to think of those who had given their lives during WWI and WWII
