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Ceremonies honour sacrifice made by armed forces

Isle of Man national service honours those killed in conflicts

People across the Isle of Man have fallen silent as part of Remembrance Sunday tributes to honour those who made "the ultimate sacrifice".

Crowds observed a two-minute silence at 11:00 GMT, followed by a series of wreath laying ceremonies.

In the afternoon, a national service of remembrance was held in St John's.

Diane Kelsey MLC said Remembrance Sunday was a "time to think about those who aren’t here and the sacrifices they made", and members of the armed forces still in conflict zones today.

A man salutes at the foot of the national memorial in St John's. It is a tall sculpture in the shape of Celtic cross with Celtic designs on all four sides. Standard bearers are holding standards for the armed forces and other organisations on either side.
Wreaths were laid during a ceremony at the island's national war memorial in St John's

Kelsey, who is the armed forces champion, said the events were "almost a thanksgiving for those people who gave their lives because if they hadn’t stepped up, and in some cases didn’t come home, we wouldn’t be what we are as a nation today".

A retired Royal Air Force Officer, she said it was a "time to reflect" and consider "what people have gone through to go to war", including those who "gave their todays, so we can have our tomorrows".

People on the island were always "really proud of remembering and taking that time to pay our respects", she added.

The back of people's heads as they look at the Douglas war memorial, which is a tall war stone memorial with a statue of a solider on the top. The sea and Onchan Head can been seen in the background.
Hundreds of people attended the morning commemoration on Douglas Promenade

Church services took place in Peel, Kirk Michael, Ramsey, Bride, Port Erin, Castletown, Onchan and the island's capital Douglas to honour the fallen, including the 1,200 Manx people who died in World War One.

At 15:00 the Lieutenant Governor Sir John Lorimer joined the island's politicians and other dignitaries in the Royal Chapel for the service, before laying a wreath at the island's national war memorial.

The interior of a church, which has people in dark clothing sitting in wooden pews with their heads bowed. There is a red carpet along the centre isle and stained glass windows at the far end.
The national service of remembrance was held in the Royal Chapel at St John's

President of the Isle of Man branch of the Royal British Legion Tony Brown said the “turnout right around the island has shown that people of all generations see Remembrance Sunday as important”.

“Most people have a connection, it might be a great-grandfather or a great-great-grandfather who served”, he said.

But as time continued to pass, “that connection becomes further and further apart”, so the services act as a way to remember those from the island involved in World War One and World War Two, he added.

Commemorations are also set to continue across the island on Armistice Day on Monday.

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