At the War Memorial in Municipal Gardens, Aldershot, there was a ceremony to mark Armistice Day, which is held on 11 November every year, to commemorate the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany at 11.00 am on 11 November 1918 – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (photos below).
Since the end of World War I, Armistice Day is marked each year by a two-minute silence at 11.00 am, a chance for people to stop and remember the 20 million who died during the conflict.
Here in Aldershot, Father Keith Hodges of St. Augustine’s Church led the Act of Remembrance. He started by saying:
Let us remember before God and commend to his sure keeping those who have died for their country in war – those whom we know and whose memory we treasure, and all who have lived and died in the service of mankind.
He then recited the Ode to the Fallen:
They grow not old as we that are left grow old –
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn –
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them
The two bearers then lowered the standards for the Two Minutes’ Silence
Peter Coleman, Branch Secretary of the Royal Naval Association, lowers the standard
Father Hodges then read the Act of Commitment:
Let us pledge ourselves anew to the service of God and our fellow men – that we may help, encourage and comfort others and support those working for peace and the welfare of the nations.
Lord God our Father, we pledge ourselves
to serve thee and all mankind in the cause of peace
for the relief of want and suffering and for the praise of thy name.
Guide us by thy Spirit.
Give us wisdom,
Give us courage,
Give us hope, and keep us faithful now and always. Amen.
Finally, mindful of the great work of the Poppy Appeal collectors on the 90th Anniversary of the founding of the Royal British Legion this week, Father Hodges read The Royal British Legion Prayer:
We thank you most merciful Father
that you have put into the hearts of these your servants
to join together in the fellowship of
The Royal British Legion
and to carry out its aims and purposes.
May your fatherly hand be ever over them.
May your Holy Spirit ever be with them
so that, by their witness and labours,
the spirit of love and comradeship
among ex-service men and women
may be advanced in our country and throughout the world
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Following the service, the bearers again raised their standards.
Standards raised at the end of the service marking Armistice Day
