Armistice Day: the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh lead tributes to fallen soldiers The Queen is leading tributes to fallen soldiers in an Armistice Day memorial service at Westminster Abbey to mark the passing of the World War One generation.
By Ben Leach <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/ben-leach/> Published: 10:47AM GMT 11 Nov 2009 [image: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh arrive at Westminster Abbey] The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrive at Westminster Abbey Photo: BBC [image: Armistice Day: Queen leads tributes to fallen soldiers] The ceremony has been timed to coincide with the annual Armistice Day two-minute silence at 11am as the nation remembers the sacrifices made by the 1914-1918 generation Photo: GETTY IMAGES [image: First World War veterans Henry Allingham (L), Harry Patch (C) and Bill Stone: Armistice Day service will mark lost World War One generation] First World War veterans Henry Allingham (L), Harry Patch (C) and Bill Stone Photo: REUTERS [image: Armistice Day: the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh lead tributes to fallen soldiers] Prime Minister Gordon Brown Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES [image: Armistice Day: the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh lead tributes to fallen soldiers] Leader of the Conservative Party David Cameron Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES [image: Armistice Day: the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh lead tributes to fallen soldiers] Dorothy Hughes, one of the first female Chelsea Pensioners Photo: PA [image: Armistice Day: the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh lead tributes to fallen soldiers] Former Conservative Prime Ministers John Major (left) and Baroness Margaret Thatcher Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh are joined by senior politicians and the heads of the Armed Forces in central London. The service is being held following the deaths this year of the final three veterans of the war living in the UK. William Stone died in January, aged 108, followed in July by Henry Allingham, 113, and Harry Patch, 111. The service, exactly 91 years after the guns fell silent, will recognise the contributions of both the Armed Forces and civilians during the First World War. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, and the Duchess of Gloucester, patron of the World War One Veterans Association, is among the British and foreign dignitaries. The head of the Armed Forces, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, is attending alongside the chiefs of staff of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, the Army, General Sir David Richards, and the Royal Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton. Members of the public from across the UK with links to the conflict were also invited. The ceremony has been timed to coincide with the annual Armistice Day two-minute silence at 11am as the nation remembers the sacrifices made by the 1914-1918 generation. Relatives of some of those who served in the war are giving readings. Anne Davidson, the daughter of Mr Stone, a former Royal Navy chief petty officer who fought in both World Wars, is delivering a passage from the Bible. Another reading is coming from 15-year-old Andrew Orr Ewing, whose family has a long tradition of serving the country in the Armed Forces. His great-grandfather fought in the Battle of Jutland in 1916, aged just 16, his grandfather was also a Royal Navy officer, and his father, Lieutenant Colonel David Orr Ewing, is currently serving in Afghanistan with the Black Watch, 3rd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland. Andrew, from Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, spoke of his pride in his family's military tradition but admitted to feeling nervous about his part in the service. He said: "The First World War should be remembered. It is quite an honour that I have been asked to do a reading when you think of how many people served." Andrew is in the Combined Cadet Force at his school, Glenalmond College in Perthshire, although he currently has no plans to join the Armed Forces himself. During the service the Queen will place a poppy wreath on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior. The ring of scarlet flowers will be carried through the Abbey by Victoria Cross holders Lance Corporal Johnson Beharry and Trooper Mark Donaldson escorted by Millie Scott, 17, from Stoke on Trent, and Victoria Newark, 15, from London. Actor Jeremy Irons will read Last Post by poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, which was written to mark the deaths of the last surviving First World War veterans in the UK. The choir will sing Agnus Dei from Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, which uses the words from war poet Wilfred Owen's At a Calvary Near The Ancre. Prayers are being said for peace, for nations still suffering in war, for veterans, for innocent victims of conflict and for the Armed Forces. A Royal Marines bugler will sound the Last Post followed by a Reveille, and the bells of the Abbey Church is being rung half-muffled in honour of those who died after living through the war years. Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams will give the address and the service will be conducted by the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, Dean of Westminster. Other events to mark Armistice Day are being held around the country. The Earl of Wessex will lead the congregation at a service of remembrance at the Armed Forces Memorial near Lichfield in Staffordshire. Other guests include Defence Minister Quentin Davies and Major General Patrick Cordingley, who commanded the Desert Rats in the Gulf War. The Royal British Legion is also holding two events, in London's Trafalgar Square and Swansea's Castle Square, for people who want to observe the two-minute silence at 11am with others. The UK's involvement in World War One lasted from August 4 1914 until November 11 1918. More than 700,000 British servicemen were killed and some two million were wounded during the conflict. Few families were untouched by the slaughter, as the long rows of names on war memorials up and down the country attest. The sole British survivor of the First World War is now former seaman Claude Choules, who is aged 108 and lives in Perth, Australia.
