Britain and Australia remember war dead
Millions of people across the UK honoured a two-minute silence to mark Armistice Day.
The silence, in honour of Britain’s war dead, marks the moment when the guns fell silent on the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 – the end of World War I.
The Queen was in London today to unveil a war memorial at Hyde Park Corner in tribute to Australian servicemen.
The memorial honours the 102,000 Australians who died in the two world wars, and the million or so who fought.
Also present at the ceremony were Prince Philip, the Duke of Kent, prime minister Tony Blair and Australian prime minister John Howard.
Twenty-eight Australian veterans and war widows were also in attendance, along with members of the British Legion, a British veteran contingent and members of the public.
The Queen inspected the Royal Federation Guard before the two-minute silence on the first stroke of Big Ben at 11:00 GMT.
The two minutes’ silence ended with an RAF fly-past.
A service of dedication then took place at the memeorial. Mr Howard said it symbolised Australia and Britain’s common history and “an enduring belief in human dignity and the democratic freedoms”.
The Queen said the monument would stand as a permanent tribute to Australia’s partnership and sacrifice in a common cause and added that the UK was “eternally grateful at how, in our darkest hour, Australia stood by our side”.
The Queen and Mr Howard jointly unveiled the memorial, which is a long curving wall of Australian granite, with falls of water, set with the names of the 24,000 hometowns of Australian men and women who served during the two world wars.
Tony Blair also addressed the ceremony, and prayers of dedication were made.
Wreaths were laid by dignitaries including the leader of the Australian opposition Simon Crean, chief of the Australian defence force General Peter Cosgrove and chief of the UK defence staff, General Michael Walker.
British and Australian veterans also paid tribute to their fellow servicemen and women killed in war.
