Armistice Day: East falls silent to remember veterans who lost their lives in conflict

ITV News Anglia's Hannah Pettifer reports from Colchester, Essex

Communities across the East of England have fallen silent to pay respect to those who lost their lives in conflict, as they marked Armistice Day.

Services were held across the region to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

At Rushton near Kettering, a stunning display of cascading poppies was fitted on the village's All Saints Church.

View the cascading poppies display:

An estimated 4,000 poppies have been stitched on to canvas in the eye-catching installation, thanks to contributions from Rushton Primary School and Rushton Village Women's Institute, among other groups.

Silhouettes of fallen soldiers were installed on the village green at Haughley in Suffolk in tribute to those who lost their lives.

The silhouettes will remain on the village green for the whole of November in a reminder to generations - both young and old - of the sacrifices made.

Armistice Day is marked by silence each November 11 at 11am.

This year marked a return to public commemorations for Britain's war dead. Last year, coronavirus restrictions limited gatherings for memorial events.

The end of lockdown brought poppy-wearing veterans, Armed Forces personnel, and people wishing to pay tribute on Armistice Day together again.

Communities also marked the occasion with their own special tributes.

At Howard Junior School in West Norfolk, children laid out a giant poppy on the school's stage.

In Norwich, the silence took place in front of the city's war memorial.

Phil Coates, of the Norwich Royal Naval Association, said: "You get veterans from the First World War to the Afghanistan conflicts, we've got veterans in our association from World War Two who've come along and there's not many more occasions when we get to do that.

"So it's really important we pay our respects and remember those who've paid that ultimate sacrifice and didn't come home."