The nation stops to remember

The Royal Family will lead Remembrance Sunday tributes today as millions of ordinary Britons pause to remember the glorious war dead.

The Queen will lay a wreath and join the salute alongside party leaders David Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg at London’s Cenotaph.

Thousands are expected to take part in poignant ceremonies across the country honouring our brave troops who lost their lives defending British freedoms.

Mr Cameron addressed crowds on The Mall yesterday at the start of a weekend of emotional commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.

He said: “As we remember those who served, those who gave their lives so we could live in freedom, I think it’s also a weekend to celebrate the extraordinary values of our armed services values of teamwork, of loyalty, of service above self, a deep belief in our country and its way of life.

“Those are values that frankly we need more of in our country, so it is right that we celebrate at the same time we commemorate them.”

First Minister Alex Salmond and Labour’s Shadow Scottish Secretary, Margaret Curran, will remember the war dead in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Stone of Remembrance in Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, on behalf of the Scottish people.

This year a child will lay a special wreath for the “memory of children’s lives that were lost or changed forever”.

Veterans from Legion Scotland will pay their personal respects during its annual national remembrance parade led by the Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, before a public ceremony at St Giles Cathedral.

In what Mr Salmond has described as a “true symbol” of reconciliation, he will meet German Navy commander Ivo Schneider and a detachment of personnel from the frigate Brandenburg, docked in Leith.

Among the Edinburgh crowds will be Meghan Matthews, whose father Sergeant Jonathan Matthews, 35, of The Highlanders, 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was shot dead by a Taliban sniper in Afghanistan in 2008.

Meghan, who is accompanied by her grandfather, will recite the famous lines from Binyon’s poem, An Ode to Remembrance. Last night Mr Salmond said: “The people of Scotland will always honour, with respect and appreciation, the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. It takes an incomparable event to bring a whole nation to a halt united in remembrance, reflection and gratitude and there is no more profound an event than a conflict that saw more than 100,000 sons, fathers, uncles never return from the front line.

“Today we stand with members of the German Navy to remember and pay tribute to the fallen a true symbol that in conflict there is always the resounding hope for peace and reconciliation.”

In Glasgow, Anas Sarwar, the interim leader of the Scottish Labour Party, will pay tribute at the Cenotaph in George Square.

Ahead of the ceremony, he said: “From the fields of Flanders to the plains of Afghanistan, we pay tribute to those brave men and women, across the generations, who have sacrificed all to defend our values and freedoms across the world.”

Newcastle’s Lord Mayor, Councillor Brenda Hindmarsh, will observe a two-minute silence at the city’s war memorial marked by gunfire from the 101 (Northumbrian) Regiment Royal Artillery.

Hundreds of people will remember Cumbrians who died in the line of duty at Carlisle Cathedral before a parade in the Town Hall Square. A lone bugler will sound The Last Post as serving soldiers and veterans fall silent in remembrance of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

One of the key focal points of this year’s period of remembrance has been the moving poppy art installation at the Tower of London. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, it features 888,246 ceramic poppies which have progressively filled the Tower’s famous moat. It has been drawing record crowds this weekend.

The piece has proved so popular it has been decided that the Wave section of the artwork will remain on show until the end of the month so more people have the opportunity to see it at the Tower.

Despite a campaign for the poppies to remain long-term, Historic Royal Palaces, which runs the Tower of London, has said it intends to start dismantling the artwork on November 12 the day after Armistice Day as planned.

A team of 8,000 volunteers has been lined up to start removing and cleaning the ceramic poppies, before dispatching them to buyers who have paid £25 each to raise money for armed forces charities.

After he announced the Wave would remain in place for a few extra weeks, Mr Cameron said the installation, created to mark the centenary of the start of the First World War, had become a “much-loved and respected monument” in a short space of time.

Rumours the artwork is to be toured across the UK could not be confirmed last night.