The Midlands remembers: Thousands gather for Remembrance Sunday services

  • Central

Thousands of people are attending Remembrance Day events across the Midlands to honour fallen servicemen and women.

This year is the 75th anniversary of D-Day, which happened in Normandy on Tuesday 6th June 1944.

Remembrance Sunday takes place every year on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day, November 11, when the guns fell silent at the end of the First World War in 1918.

Remembrance Day is a memorial day that has been marked by all Commonweath states since the end of the First World War Credit: PA

There are a number of parades and services taking place across the Midlands, including:

  • St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham

  • Victoria Park, Leicester

  • Ilkeston Market Place, Derby

  • Victoria Embankment War Memorial, Nottingham

  • Worcester Cathedral

  • Ludlow Castle, Shropshire

  • Lincoln Cathedral

  • Coventry Cathedral

  • St Peter's Square, Hereford

Why do we mark Remembrance Day?

Remembrance Day is a memorial day that has been marked by all Commonweath states since the end of the First World War to remember those who lost their lives in the line of duty. It's sometimes called Poppy Day due to the fact that people wear poppies - a flower that lies in the landscapes of the First World War because poppies were a common sight near battlegrounds, especially on the Western Front.

What is the difference between Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday?

Armistice Day (also called Remembrance Day) is on 11 November. It marks the day World War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918. There is also Remembrance Sunday every year, which falls on the second Sunday in November.

Why do we hold a two minute silence?

A two minute silence is held at 11am on November 11 for people to remember those who died in action. It's thought that the silence was first proposed in 1919, the year after the war ended, by the Australian journalist, Edward George Honey. Honey wrote to the London Evening News in May that year. His suggestion was then brought before King George V, who on November 7, 1919, issued a proclamation which called for a two-minute silence.