Skip to content

Armistice Day marked across the South East

BBC A single poppy lying on the top of a war grave at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in RunnymedeBBC
A knitted poppy had been placed on a grave at Brookland War Cemetery in Surrey

Remembrance ceremonies have been held across the south east of England to mark Armistice Day.

The Armistice, an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations, began at 11:00 GMT on 11 November, 1918.

The Armistice ceremonies across the UK and Europe followed events on Remembrance Sunday.

Silences were held and wreaths were laid at war memorials and cemeteries.

BBC/George Carden Tony Avery wearing a dark blazer, service medals and beret, standing to attention in front of Shoreham's war memorial.BBC/George Carden
Tony Avery helped organise the parade at Shoreham, West Sussex

At St Mary's Church in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, naval veteran Tony Avery was acting as deputy parade marshall.

He said: "It's a great honour, it means an awful lot to me.

"You've got to think of all the people that sacrificed, in the First World War, the Second World War, the Falklands, Afghanistan, Iraq, all those people who gave their lives to keep this country free."

BBC/George Carden Veterans and members of the public gathering before Shoreham-by-Sea's war memorial for an Armistice Day event.BBC/George Carden
Veterans and members of the public gathered before Shoreham-by-Sea's war memorial earlier

The Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent, remembers "the individual stories of soldiers" in a special gallery, its director, Rebecca Nash said.

"We have on display 6,000 medals, each with their own individual story of courage, sacrifice and service," she explained.

BBC/Phil Harrison Exhibits at the Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham, Kent, showing a mannequin in combat kit and a model of a battlefield.BBC/Phil Harrison
The Royal Engineers Museum in Gillingham tells the stories of individuals who have fallen in combat

Meanwhile, in Rochester, Medway council leader Vince Maple, deputy mayor of Medway, councillor Douglas Hamandishe, and councillor Joanne Howcroft-Scott laid wreaths at Victoria Gardens war memorial.

BBC/Phil Harrison Medway councillor Joanne Howcroft-Scott, deputy mayor of Medway councillor Douglas Hamandishe and Medway Council leader Vince Maple at Victoria Gardens war memorial in Rochester.BBC/Phil Harrison
Wreaths were laid at a war memorial in Rochester by Medway councillors and the area's deputy mayor

Brookwood Cemetery in Surrey, which contains more than 4,500 military graves, held ceremonies on Monday at both the Canadian and French plots.

Bob Thomson, senior gardener for the Commonwealth Graves War Commission, told BBC Radio Surrey: "This is the most important time of the year for us.

"We started months ago preparing the grass, managing it through the summer and the autumn, leaf collection, headstone and border cleanliness, weeding, pruning."

BBC/ClareCowan Senior gardener Bob Thomson wearing gardening clothes and standing in front of graves at Brookwood Military Cemetery.BBC/ClareCowan
Bob Thomson and his team of gardeners spend months preparing Brookwood Cemetery for November's remembrance events

Canon Peter Bruinvels, military liaison officer for Surrey County Council, told BBC Radio Surrey the level of support for remembrance events had been very strong across the weekend.

"In Dorking, 2,000 people turned up at St Martin's Church. It has been incredible the level of support.

"So far, 30m poppies have been distributed and 6m pin poppies," he said.

Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250.

Related Internet Links: