HM The Queen leads Remembrance tributes
15 November 2010
Her Majesty The Queen led Remembrance tributes in the UK this weekend, while her grandson Prince William joined British Armed Forces in Afghanistan.
At the Cenotaph in Whitehall, a crowd of thousands gathered on Remembrance Sunday as the Queen placed the first wreath in memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in past and present conflicts.
The National President of The Royal British Legion, Lieutenant General Sir John Kiszely KCB MC, laid the wreath on behalf of the Legion while National Chairman John Farmer led the marchpast by thousands of veterans.
Prince William and Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox paid a surprise visit to Camp Bastion in Helmand Province for Remembrance services.
The prince laid a wreath
which said: "For Jo, Lex and all those who have made the ultimate
sacrifice for our country."
The message refers to Second Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, 24, a cadet with Prince William at Sandhurst killed in Iraq in 2007; and Major Alexis Roberts, 32, the prince's platoon commander at the military academy killed in Afghanistan the same year.
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Prince William noted the public's support for the Armed Forces.
"The national awareness of what young men and women are doing for us in the most extreme and hostile environments imaginable is striking and moving," he wrote. "I find this remarkable and, frankly, humbling."
Prince William, Patron of The Royal British Legion's National Memorial Arboretum Appeal, also called "unreservedly" for the public to contribute to its success so that "our nation will have an invaluable site dedicated to remembering our fallen and wounded."
Meanwhile, a Two Minute Silence single released by the Legion reached 20th position in the week's music charts.
As a result, two minutes of solemn silence were played on Sunday during The Official Chart programme on BBC Radio 1.
On Saturday, The Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and other members of The Royal Family attended The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall.
Hosted by Huw Edwards and broadcast on BBC One to an audience of some five million viewers, the Festival pays tribute to those who have died on active service.
The Cenotaph services
marked the end of the Poppy Appeal, launched on 28 October with a
concert by The Saturdays for families of 16 Air Assault Brigade,
which assumed command of Task Force Helmand earlier in the
month.
Demand for poppies has been so great that the Poppy Appeal had to dip into next year's supply to provide 46 million poppies, two million more than expected.
In Scotland, HMS Ark Royal ship's company led a parade in Glasgow's George Square, while a service was held in Glasgow Cathedral. A ceremony was held at the Stone of Remembrance on Edinburgh's Royal Mile.
In Belfast, tributes at the city hall were led by the Lord Mayor. In Cardiff a march by the Armed Forces and veterans organisations was followed by a service at the Welsh National War Memorial in Cathays Park.
