On the second Sunday of November, every year, Britain observes Remembrance Day to remember its fallen heroes lost during battles past and present.
In 1947 it was agreed that both World War I and World War II would be remembered on just one national day, Remembrance Sunday.
Services took place across the UK to mark the day. A two-minute silence was held at precisely 11am (GMT) to honour all those who had died in conflict.
The ceremonies are not only restricted to the UK, however, with Commonwealth nations, including Cyprus, also pausing for a moment to remember the fallen, including their own.
In London, images of poppies – adopted and popularised in 1921 by the Royal British Legion – were projected onto the Queen Elizabeth tower at Parliament on Sunday afternoon.
REMEMBRANCE DAY IN CYPRUS
In Cyprus, MPs visited the island this week to pay their respects to British and Cypriot troops lost during the great wars.
Among the UK delegation was MP for Hendon, Matthew Offord, who told SigmaLive English that visiting Nicosia (Wayne’s Keep) Military Cemetery, located within the UN Buffer Zone: “People have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, and other countries, and we would like to pay our respects.”
In addition to Wayne’s Keep, there are British Military cemeteries located in Kyrenia, Troodos and Dhekelia – all looked after by the UK War Commission.
On Wayne’s Keep, Offord added: “I was aware that it wasn’t ordinarily possible to visit. To be able to pay our respects on Remembrance Day is quite significant to me personally and to the [Conservative] Party.”
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded and illegally occupied its northern third. A UN Buffer Zone has been placed between the island’s two communities (Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot) since the invasion.
“It’s not a place where any member of the British public can simply just go along and pay their respects so this is quite an opportunity for us to visit as Parliamentarians,” commented Offord.
MORE RELEVANT THAN EVER
With Cyprus still locked in negotiations to find a political solution to its divide 42 years later, wars raging in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, Offord said that Remembrance Day is more relevant than ever today.
“It’s had more of a relevance because a new generation of veterans, and people who were killed in those conflicts, have made it a lot more visible and understandable to people of younger generations who did not experience the great wars, or indeed the Korean conflict,” outlined Offord.
“Wherever you are in the world, if there is a location like a cemetery, where you can just take the time to think about the people that died, and continue to die to this day for our freedom, we should never forget that.”
Lest we forget.
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