Remembrance Sunday


Men and women from across the Army, Navy and Royal Air Force serving at Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, where the headquarters of Task Force Helmand are based, fell silent to mark Remembrance Sunday at 11am.

Meanwhile in London, thousands of veterans and civilians marched past the Cenotaph on Whitehall where the official wreath-laying ceremony was led by Her Majesty The Queen and members of the Royal Family along with members of the Government including Prime Minister David Cameron.

Other Remembrance Sunday ceremonies took place up and down the country and around the world.

Those in Afghanistan included one at Kandahar Airfield where hundreds of UK troops fell silent for two minutes at the Allied War Memorial at the airfield along with a large contingent of coalition troops, including Americans and Canadians.

The commemorations were held in tradition by holding a formal Remembrance Ceremony, attended by UK serving personnel based at KAF as well as ISAF and NATO representatives. The ceremony concluded with the last post, and the laying of the wreath by Commanding Officer 904 EAW. Personnel from the Royal Air Force, the Royal Navy and the Army were all present at the ceremony to pay their respects.

Commanding Officer 904 EAW, Group Captain Richard Barrow said: "It is an honour and a privilege to hold this service and lay a wreath in memory of all those who have lost there lives in the Service of their country. To do so here in Afghanistan is all the more poignant."

Services were also held in towns and cities up and down the length of the UK including the Service and Remembrance Parade in the market town of Olney, Bucks. Here, representatives of the Olney Royal British Legion, Olney Town Council, St. John Ambulance, Thames Valley Police, Fire Brigade, Scouts, Guides, Armed Forces and veterans, gathered with Olney citizens at the Remembrance Garden in the town centre to pay their respects. 

Further afield, a Remembrance service was held at Mount Pleasant Complex in the Falklands on Friday 09 November 2012, the service was conducted by Padre (Sqn Ldr) Chris Lawrence RAF and Chaplain Horne RN was attended by personnel from both the Military and Civilian community based at MPC. Readings from Brig W N Aldridge CBE Command British Forces South Atlantic Islands.