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Armistice Day commemorations at war memorial

BBC A tall war memorial on a seaside promenade, surrounded with standard bearers carrying flags for the ceremony. BBC
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Douglas war memorial

The Isle of Man’s capital has marked its 100th year of Armistice Day commemorations at the Douglas Cenotaph.

A ceremony to mark the anniversary of the end of World War One was held at the war memorial on Douglas Promenade, which was first unveiled in May 1924.

A two minute silence was held followed by the laying of wreaths were also laid in proceedings that were echoed at other war memorials across the island.

Preservation of War Memorials Committee vice chair Diane Kelsey said it was “really lovely” to see younger people among those paying their respects at the ceremony.

Crowds gathered in on Douglas Promenade with the heads bowed. Some people are in military dress or official uniforms and other are holding red poppy wreaths.
People observed the two-minute silence on Douglas Promenade
A statue depicting an infantry soldier on top of the Douglas war memorial, which made of grey stone.
The war memorial in Douglas was first unveiled in May 1924

Mrs Kelsey, who is also vice-chairman of the Preservation of War Memorials Committee, said that body would now like to provide resources to schools to allow children to research family history or the stories of other names on memorials.

The RAF veteran said: “If you think about it, behind every name there’s a story – there’s a family, a mother, a brother, a sister, fathers, sons, and cousins.

“You cannot understand in this day and age in 2024 on the Isle of Man what people were going through a hundred years ago.

“The grief, and the sorrow and the loss of so many young lives... it’s important that we all remember those names."

A closeup of the Douglas war memorial, which has three piece of black marble listing the names of some of those killed. The words Douglas commemorates the loyalty, courage, and self sacrifice of those who fell in the Great Wars 1914 - 1918 and 1939 - 1945 are inscribed in red lettering on the monument above the black slabs.
The memorial is inscribed with the names of those from Douglas killed the two world wars
Diane Kelsey, who has brown hair and is wearing a navy coat with a poppy-themed scarf, standing in front of a war memorial on Douglas Promenade on the seafront that has poppy wreaths laid in front of it
Member of the Legislative Council Diane Kelsey served in the RAF for 23 years

Douglas’s cenotaph was designed by Ewart Crellin and unveiled in a civic ceremony in 1924.

Mrs Kelsey explained that in the early years following World War One, memorials were commissioned by local communities across the British Isles, leading to a variety ranging from “very simple to very ornate”.

The island was "really lucky" as there were "some very dedicated people who have looked into some of the history of some of the names, and some of the people who died in war, to give you a bit of the colour of those people", she added.

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