Browse content similar to 2015. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good morning from the heart of London. | :00:17. | :00:21. | |
The familiar landmarks of Westminster Abbey, | :00:22. | :00:25. | |
the Palace of Westminster and Whitehall | :00:26. | :00:30. | |
Around this Portland stone memorial, crowds are gathered, | :00:31. | :00:39. | |
as they have been every year for nearly 100 years, | :00:40. | :00:43. | |
to remember and pay homage to the British and Commonwealth forces | :00:44. | :00:46. | |
killed in two World Wars and all the conflicts since then. | :00:47. | :00:53. | |
This year, after 13 years and over 450 deaths, British combat forces | :00:54. | :01:00. | |
were withdrawn from Afghanistan, but there as elsewhere in the world, | :01:01. | :01:05. | |
members of the Armed Forces remain - often in peril, always at risk. | :01:06. | :01:14. | |
Flight Lieutenants Alan Scott and Geraint Roberts | :01:15. | :01:19. | |
were killed in a helicopter crash in Kabul. | :01:20. | :01:22. | |
And Lance Corporal Michael Campbell died earlier this year | :01:23. | :01:29. | |
after an injury in Afghanistan three years ago. | :01:30. | :01:34. | |
to serve as a memorial for the dead of the First World War, | :01:35. | :01:41. | |
the war which changed the nature of war. | :01:42. | :01:43. | |
100 years on, just as we did last year and will again next year, | :01:44. | :01:53. | |
we have, as a nation, been remembering those times. | :01:54. | :01:59. | |
At the War Graves Cemetery in Brookwood near Woking, | :02:00. | :02:04. | |
a new memorial to those killed in the First World War | :02:05. | :02:08. | |
was unveiled a few days ago by the Duke of Kent, | :02:09. | :02:11. | |
president of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. | :02:12. | :02:15. | |
It has brought together the names of 264 men | :02:16. | :02:19. | |
killed the day after Britain declared war on Germany in 1914, | :02:20. | :02:30. | |
who died the very day the Armistice was signed four years later. | :02:31. | :02:37. | |
A place for families to come and remember. | :02:38. | :02:54. | |
Thousands of veterans have gathered in Horse Guards Parade, | :02:55. | :02:58. | |
Beyond the Cenotaph, up towards Trafalgar Square, | :02:59. | :03:15. | |
each contingent laying a wreath as they pass. | :03:16. | :03:25. | |
to share private memories and recall old friends. | :03:26. | :03:44. | |
Many March in memory of a father, mother, grandfather or grandmother | :03:45. | :03:52. | |
in honour of their service during the war. Some people come here for | :03:53. | :03:56. | |
the very first time. Yes, I am here with JJ Chalmers, who | :03:57. | :04:08. | |
served with 42 Commando in Afghanistan, and also Terri Pitts, | :04:09. | :04:13. | |
who served with the royal army nursing Corps, both here for the | :04:14. | :04:17. | |
first time. First to you, you were terribly injured in Afghanistan, you | :04:18. | :04:22. | |
had only been there for two months, what does it mean to you to be here? | :04:23. | :04:27. | |
It is an honour and a privilege, I have never been to the Cenotaph | :04:28. | :04:31. | |
because of commitments, and it is unbelievable to be here, looking at | :04:32. | :04:37. | |
these incredible people. I have similar stories, but we have gone | :04:38. | :04:41. | |
through incredibly different journeys, and mine ended with being | :04:42. | :04:45. | |
wounded in Afghanistan. But I have wonderful memories of my time in the | :04:46. | :04:48. | |
military and painful times, and they all come together to make a real mix | :04:49. | :04:54. | |
of emotions. Since you were injured in 2011, you have had more than 30 | :04:55. | :04:59. | |
operations, and you lost two friends. I was incredibly lucky to | :05:00. | :05:04. | |
come out of that incident, I was carried off the battlefield where | :05:05. | :05:08. | |
others were not. Eyelid my life in remembrance of them every single | :05:09. | :05:12. | |
day, but it is amazing to have support from everybody to share that | :05:13. | :05:23. | |
burden. -- I live my life. This is your first time carrying the wreath. | :05:24. | :05:32. | |
I am delighted and privileged to be here today, to be able to lay the | :05:33. | :05:40. | |
wreath on behalf of the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps. | :05:41. | :05:43. | |
. You have worked at Headley Court and said in Afghanistan, today is | :05:44. | :05:46. | |
about remembering those who have died, but also those who have been | :05:47. | :05:51. | |
badly injured, those who make sacrifices. Yes, I have worked at | :05:52. | :05:56. | |
Headley Court, looked after the guys who sustained life changing | :05:57. | :05:59. | |
injuries, it is important we run member them and raise awareness so | :06:00. | :06:02. | |
that we support them and look after them. -- we remember them. As we | :06:03. | :06:07. | |
discovered when you looked after each other, you looked after JJ. I | :06:08. | :06:13. | |
did, you look terrific, the beard, completely different, I am delighted | :06:14. | :06:17. | |
that you are well, great to meet you again. As she said, you were a model | :06:18. | :06:24. | |
patient! The support and help you got in the years after your injuries | :06:25. | :06:30. | |
must have been incredible. It is unbelievable, we have an incredible | :06:31. | :06:33. | |
support and recovery system provided by the MOD and the military, but | :06:34. | :06:37. | |
also the charities that come together to give as a better quality | :06:38. | :06:43. | |
of life. They are angels, incredible people who take unbelievable | :06:44. | :06:46. | |
sacrifice to put as back on our feet to give us the best life we possibly | :06:47. | :06:51. | |
can have. Looking around at the crowds, they have been queueing for | :06:52. | :06:55. | |
a long time to take their places on Whitehall, what does the public | :06:56. | :06:58. | |
support mean to you? It is humbling, it is so ambling. I did this to | :06:59. | :07:04. | |
better our nation, to support these people. My opinion that has not | :07:05. | :07:08. | |
changed whatsoever. I was to serve my country, and so incredible that | :07:09. | :07:14. | |
they will come out and support as in return. You work at the Royal | :07:15. | :07:17. | |
Hospital in Chelsea, you know what it means to the veterans here today | :07:18. | :07:23. | |
but also those who cannot be here. They are watching on television, | :07:24. | :07:25. | |
they know I am being interviewed, they keep reminding me, yes, we will | :07:26. | :07:30. | |
be watching you! It means everything to them, and I feel exactly what | :07:31. | :07:34. | |
they feel. Thank you so much for joining me, I will let you take your | :07:35. | :07:38. | |
place for the march-past. Back to you now, David. | :07:39. | :07:45. | |
The ceremony we will see today differs very little from the | :07:46. | :07:51. | |
familiar scene, Her Majesty the Queen will lay a wreath on behalf of | :07:52. | :07:55. | |
the nation. With her this year, King | :07:56. | :07:57. | |
Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, marking the 70th anniversary of | :07:58. | :08:02. | |
the liberation of Holland in 1945. Other members of the Royal family, | :08:03. | :08:20. | |
not including the Prince of Wales, who is on an official visit to | :08:21. | :08:26. | |
Australia and new, they will lay wreaths in two groups. | :08:27. | :08:28. | |
Others, senior members of the Armed Forces, politicians | :08:29. | :08:30. | |
and High Commissioners from the Commonwealth will lay theirs too. | :08:31. | :08:33. | |
The Massed Bands of the Guards Division, the Pipes and Drums | :08:34. | :08:35. | |
of the Black Watch, the Royal Marines and the Central Band | :08:36. | :08:39. | |
of the RAF will play the traditional music of Remembrance, | :08:40. | :08:42. | |
leading to the two minutes' silence at 11am. | :08:43. | :08:53. | |
And around the Cenotaph, the whole of the Hollow Square, people on all | :08:54. | :09:02. | |
four sites, the initial infantry formation, the Household Cavalry, | :09:03. | :09:05. | |
the Life Guards this year, and next to them the King's Troop Royal Horse | :09:06. | :09:11. | |
Artillery under the command of captain Julie Navarro hammer in | :09:12. | :09:15. | |
charge of the detachment, standing in front. And then the 1st Battalion | :09:16. | :09:24. | |
of the Grenadier Guards, proud of land score James Ashworth, who was | :09:25. | :09:30. | |
awarded the VC for their action in Afghanistan in 2012. -- lance | :09:31. | :09:37. | |
corporal. On the west side, opposite them, the Royal Navy, including the | :09:38. | :09:46. | |
fleet air arm, bearing in mind their great victory 75 years ago when they | :09:47. | :09:52. | |
attacked the battalion. The Royal Marines are here from 43 Commando. | :09:53. | :10:07. | |
And then the Gurkhas 2nd Battalion the Royal Gurkha rifles represented | :10:08. | :10:10. | |
here, the 200th anniversary of the moment when they first took up arms | :10:11. | :10:15. | |
for the British India army, what became the British India army, what | :10:16. | :10:19. | |
was in fact the East India company at the time, remembering 200 years | :10:20. | :10:28. | |
of bold service in the cause of the Crown. And then the royal air force | :10:29. | :10:35. | |
is here. They, of course, have been commemorating the Battle of Britain, | :10:36. | :10:40. | |
and the civilian services, representing everything from the | :10:41. | :10:47. | |
police to the Prison Service. And in a moment, the Massed Bands | :10:48. | :10:55. | |
under the baton of Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Roberts, | :10:56. | :10:57. | |
the senior director of music, and, as always, | :10:58. | :10:59. | |
the music begins with Rule, Britannia! | :11:00. | :11:04. | |
MUSIC: Rule, Britannia! by Thomas Arne | :11:05. | :12:03. | |
The Massed Bands now play Heart of Oak, | :12:04. | :12:05. | |
the Minstrel Boy, and Men of Harlech. | :12:06. | :12:09. | |
MUSIC: Heart of Oak (Royal Navy Official March) | :12:10. | :12:19. | |
As always at the Cenotaph, we remember events past and | :12:20. | :12:25. | |
anniversaries each year, and 100 years ago in September 1915, the | :12:26. | :12:30. | |
Allies were preparing a big offensive against the Germans to the | :12:31. | :12:36. | |
East. The British First Army, 75,000 strong, attacked the German line at | :12:37. | :12:43. | |
the small mining town of Loos in northern France. This lodging the | :12:44. | :12:46. | |
Germans proved much harder than expected, weeks of fighting ended in | :12:47. | :12:55. | |
a stalemate. -- this lodging. One of its heroes is remembered by his | :12:56. | :12:59. | |
great-grandson. My grandfather was Piper Daniel | :13:00. | :13:13. | |
Laidlaw, a season the soldier before the First World War, he re-enlisted | :13:14. | :13:18. | |
in 1914 at the outbreak of the war, part of Kitchener's army. The piper | :13:19. | :13:23. | |
in the battle leads the men over the top, not just over the top, he | :13:24. | :13:28. | |
actually leads them into battle, so he will play across no man's land | :13:29. | :13:31. | |
and lead them right across into the battle. He was an armed. All he had | :13:32. | :13:36. | |
on him was as pipes, no weapons whatsoever. It was at Loos that gas | :13:37. | :13:43. | |
was first used by the British after the Germans had unleashed it a few | :13:44. | :13:49. | |
months earlier. It proved a fickle weapon. A change of wind blew it | :13:50. | :13:53. | |
back into the British trenches that it had been fired from. There was | :13:54. | :13:59. | |
total confusion, so the line only started to move when the Piper | :14:00. | :14:04. | |
struck up his pipes, mounted the parapet and started playing, and | :14:05. | :14:09. | |
then the men went over the top and followed him into the battle. And he | :14:10. | :14:14. | |
actually got over the first or second line of defences, and then he | :14:15. | :14:20. | |
was shot his legs. He managed to hobble back to the trenches, and he | :14:21. | :14:25. | |
was very lucky that he survived. There were 60,000 casualties in the | :14:26. | :14:29. | |
three and a hard weeks of the Battle of Loos, 21,000 dead. Daniel Laidlaw | :14:30. | :14:36. | |
miraculously survived and was awarded the Victoria Cross. And on | :14:37. | :14:40. | |
his return to Britain, he made a point of playing every year in | :14:41. | :14:46. | |
memory of his dead comrades. He did lead marches to the Cenotaph on a | :14:47. | :14:50. | |
member and state. It must have been quite difficult to actually be at | :14:51. | :14:53. | |
the Cenotaph and remember these people. -- on Remembrance Day. It is | :14:54. | :14:59. | |
quite hard to get over the amount of names on the walls here, men who | :15:00. | :15:06. | |
lost their life. For me, it is very mixed emotions, proud of what he | :15:07. | :15:13. | |
did, but very sad to think about all those who, you know, were getting | :15:14. | :15:19. | |
gassed, just in the top of the trench, killed instantly. It is | :15:20. | :15:19. | |
quite hard to take in, really. The Skye Boat Song played by the | :15:20. | :15:38. | |
pipes and drums of the Black Watch. The senior drum Major, Scott | :15:39. | :16:35. | |
Fitzgerald of the Coldstream Guards, brings the parade to attention and | :16:36. | :16:46. | |
the Massed Bands now play Isle of Beauty. The numbers of the dead | :16:47. | :16:56. | |
counted on this Remembrance Sunday is always shocking and of course it | :16:57. | :17:00. | |
is the source of all public grief, but every death is also a place for | :17:01. | :17:08. | |
private grieving. Corporal Liam Riley served with the 3rd Battalion | :17:09. | :17:13. | |
of the Yorkshire Regiment, he died in Afghanistan in 2010. He was | :17:14. | :17:19. | |
killed by an IED, an explosive device planted by the Taliban. If | :17:20. | :17:25. | |
ever you asked him what he was going to be when he grew up, he said I | :17:26. | :17:31. | |
will be a soldier, I will be in the army, and he never wavered. He used | :17:32. | :17:37. | |
to say, I'm going to be a soldier, I'm going to be a soldier. All | :17:38. | :17:43. | |
along, that was what he wanted. My big brother was a tall, friendly guy | :17:44. | :17:48. | |
who was there for everyone and everyone loved him to bits. He was | :17:49. | :17:55. | |
really a high-flying young man in the army but when he came home he | :17:56. | :18:01. | |
just left the army behind him and went into family mode. Liam went to | :18:02. | :18:08. | |
Afghanistan in 2009. He missed going with his regiment because he was | :18:09. | :18:12. | |
doing his Corporal course and the army wouldn't release him to go, | :18:13. | :18:19. | |
which he wasn't happy about. He actually came home and said, how did | :18:20. | :18:24. | |
they expect me to train other young soldiers to go to Afghanistan when | :18:25. | :18:29. | |
I've not been myself? He was that adamant that he wanted to go and I | :18:30. | :18:35. | |
think they let him go under pressure, to be honest. After I had | :18:36. | :18:41. | |
got the news that Liam had died, my initial thoughts were, I've got to | :18:42. | :18:46. | |
go and see my mum. Everyone needs them on. I heard my door go and I | :18:47. | :18:54. | |
heard this screaming. I knew it was Cheryl. I don't how anybody goes on | :18:55. | :19:01. | |
losing a child but it broke my heart losing a grandson. To lose a child, | :19:02. | :19:09. | |
it is terrible. On Remembrance Sunday we go and visit his grave, | :19:10. | :19:13. | |
bring flowers and have a minute of silence to remember him. It is such | :19:14. | :19:20. | |
an emotional day but it is fulfilling for me in the fact you | :19:21. | :19:24. | |
see people remembering obviously not just my son but all those who have | :19:25. | :19:30. | |
given their lives for our country. Remembrance Sunday has changed for | :19:31. | :19:37. | |
me because it is more poignant now, you've got one of your own that | :19:38. | :19:41. | |
you've got to remember and you are thankful that people do remember and | :19:42. | :19:46. | |
I hope they carry on remembering. I felt proper proud of Liam that he | :19:47. | :19:52. | |
wanted to do the army really bad and he wanted to do his best. It makes | :19:53. | :19:58. | |
me very proud to say that he went out there and fought for our | :19:59. | :20:03. | |
country. You've got to have those memories and have good memories, | :20:04. | :20:08. | |
that's how you get through it. I've got a photo of me, Liam and his | :20:09. | :20:16. | |
grandad sitting in our kitchen. I salute him every morning and every | :20:17. | :20:17. | |
night. Love him. The pipes and drums will now play | :20:18. | :20:37. | |
the Scottish lament. The other major event of 1915 was | :20:38. | :21:09. | |
the Gallipoli campaign in early 19 50,000 of Allied troops including | :21:10. | :21:13. | |
Australians try to capture the entrance of the Dardanelles. It | :21:14. | :21:23. | |
ended on this hostile coast in stalemate and retreat, but not until | :21:24. | :21:28. | |
nearly 60,000 Allied forces have lost their lives there. 1915, | :21:29. | :21:33. | |
rightly called the death of innocents. | :21:34. | :22:48. | |
And now Edward Elgar's haunting melody, Nimrod the Hunter. | :22:49. | :27:03. | |
Next, music by Henry Purcell, Dido's Lament. | :27:04. | :27:22. | |
"When I am laid in Earth, remember me - but, oh, forget my fate." | :27:23. | :27:26. | |
and at 11am, after the two-minute silence, | :27:27. | :27:29. | |
the Queen will lay a wreath on behalf of the nation. | :27:30. | :27:39. | |
The music awakens memories, some of them private, | :27:40. | :27:41. | |
but also of heroic campaigns for the Royal Air Force. | :27:42. | :27:43. | |
This year is the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, | :27:44. | :27:49. | |
fought over the skies of Southern England and which ended in the | :27:50. | :27:52. | |
The clergy procession leaving the Foreign and Commonwealth Office | :27:53. | :29:57. | |
building, and the Bishop of London, the Right Reverend Richard Chartres. | :29:58. | :30:03. | |
Then the Major General, two mounted regiments of Household Cavalry, | :30:04. | :30:12. | |
Major General Edwards Smith Osman and Mike Wilmot. Then the | :30:13. | :30:16. | |
politicians come out led by David Cameron, the Prime Minister. Those | :30:17. | :30:21. | |
familiar faces from the House of Commons, Tony Blair, John Major, | :30:22. | :30:27. | |
Gordon Brown. They take their place to one side, Jeremy Corbyn, the | :30:28. | :30:34. | |
Leader of the Opposition, standing next to the Prime Minister, and | :30:35. | :30:37. | |
Angus Robertson from the Scottish National Party, Jim Fallon of the | :30:38. | :30:43. | |
Liberal Democrats, they will all be laying the wreaths. The chief | :30:44. | :30:47. | |
Defence Staff, Sir Nicholas Horton, the First Sea Lord Chief, Admiral | :30:48. | :30:54. | |
Sir George Zambellas, General Nicholas Carter, and Chief of the | :30:55. | :31:06. | |
air staff, Andrew Pulford. And with them there the ambassador from | :31:07. | :31:13. | |
Ireland. And now the procession of High Commissioners from the | :31:14. | :31:19. | |
Commonwealth, 46 in all, laying wreaths, each of them, on behalf of | :31:20. | :31:23. | |
their countries, most of whom played a part in the first and second world | :31:24. | :31:28. | |
Wars, some of whom were absolutely crucial to victory, the Commonwealth | :31:29. | :31:36. | |
countries, without which the war could not have been won. There are | :31:37. | :31:42. | |
14 religious denominations emerging now from the doorway there, | :31:43. | :31:47. | |
Christian, Hebrew, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist. A group that has gradually | :31:48. | :31:54. | |
grown over the years. And at the end of the row, His | :31:55. | :32:23. | |
Eminence the Archbishop glorious for the Greek Orthodox Church. On the | :32:24. | :32:29. | |
balcony, the Queen of the Netherlands, Queen Maxima there next | :32:30. | :32:37. | |
to the Duchess of Cambridge. On the left, Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the | :32:38. | :32:41. | |
Princess Royal's husband. The Countess of Wessex on the right. | :32:42. | :33:19. | |
Silence now as we wait for the Royal party to come down and the red steps | :33:20. | :33:36. | |
from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office there with the guard of | :33:37. | :33:48. | |
honour on each side. Her Majesty the Queen with, beside her, the king of | :33:49. | :33:55. | |
the Netherlands, the Duke of Edinburgh. | :33:56. | :34:00. | |
And other members of the Royal family, the Duke of Cambridge, | :34:01. | :34:14. | |
Prince Henry of Wales, the Duke Of York, the jukebox Kent, all of whom | :34:15. | :34:19. | |
will be laying wreaths. -- the Jukes of Kent. It is now just a few | :34:20. | :34:24. | |
moments before Big Ben chimes for the two minutes' silence at 11. | :34:25. | :34:37. | |
Last Post sounded, the gunfire at the end of the two minutes silence, | :34:38. | :38:47. | |
and the Queen lays her wreath on behalf of the nation. | :38:48. | :39:13. | |
And now the king of the Netherlands is handed his wreath by a general of | :39:14. | :39:22. | |
the Royal Netherlands Army, laying this wreath in commemoration of the | :39:23. | :39:32. | |
liberation of Holland. His great-grandmother, will helm, took | :39:33. | :39:35. | |
refuge here during the Second World War. -- Wilhelmina. And now the Duke | :39:36. | :39:44. | |
of Edinburgh, who served with distinction in the Second World War. | :39:45. | :40:00. | |
The other members of the Royal family will lay their wreaths in | :40:01. | :40:08. | |
three groups. The Duke of Cambridge, Prince Henry of Wales and the Duke | :40:09. | :40:18. | |
of York first. All of whom have seen service in the armed forces, the | :40:19. | :40:22. | |
Duke of York in the Falklands, Prince Henry in the Blues and | :40:23. | :40:26. | |
Royals, the Duke of Cambridge in the Household Cavalry, the Royal Air | :40:27. | :40:32. | |
Force, and now involved in search and rescue. Then the next group of | :40:33. | :40:36. | |
three, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal and the Duke of | :40:37. | :40:46. | |
Kent. The Earl of Wessex, an honorary colonel of the Wessex | :40:47. | :40:50. | |
Yeomanry. The Duke of Kent served 21 years. | :40:51. | :41:06. | |
And the parade will be called to stand at ease, and then the Prime | :41:07. | :41:16. | |
Minister will be the first of the politicians to lay his wreath. | :41:17. | :41:23. | |
There has been some discussion about which politicians should lay wreaths | :41:24. | :41:36. | |
and in which order, but it emerges that any politician leading a party | :41:37. | :41:40. | |
with six members in the House of Commons is entitled to lay a wreath | :41:41. | :41:50. | |
here. So the Prime Minister lays his wreath, and he will be followed by | :41:51. | :41:57. | |
Jeremy Corbyn, the new official Leader of the Opposition. | :41:58. | :42:17. | |
After him, Angus Robertson from the Scottish National Party, who lays a | :42:18. | :42:31. | |
wreath on behalf of the SNP and also Plaid Cymru, the Welsh nationalists. | :42:32. | :42:39. | |
Tim Farron for the Liberal Democrats. | :42:40. | :43:00. | |
Nigel Dodds, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party at | :43:01. | :43:04. | |
Westminster. And the Secretary of State for | :43:05. | :43:27. | |
Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Philip Hammond, laying this wreath | :43:28. | :43:31. | |
on behalf of 14 overseas territories, Gibraltar, Bermuda, the | :43:32. | :43:34. | |
Pitcairn Islands, the Falkland Islands. This more extravagant | :43:35. | :43:43. | |
wreath with flowers taken from all those territories. And next, the | :43:44. | :43:48. | |
High Commissioners. First, the countries that played a huge part in | :43:49. | :43:53. | |
both world wars, Canada and Australia, New Zealand, South Africa | :43:54. | :44:03. | |
and India. India had over 2.5 million volunteers serving in World | :44:04. | :44:09. | |
War II. Canada lost over 100,000 in both world wars. Australia lost over | :44:10. | :44:17. | |
100,000. New Zealand, South Africa, 30000 and 20,000 dead. India, | :44:18. | :44:19. | |
160,000 killed. The next group is led off by | :44:20. | :44:34. | |
Nigeria, whose 82nd West African Division fought with great | :44:35. | :44:41. | |
distinction in Burma. Cyprus, 30,000 served with the British Army after | :44:42. | :44:45. | |
the German invasion of Greece. Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Jamaica, | :44:46. | :44:50. | |
which provided naval bases, Trinidad and Tobago, which provided bases for | :44:51. | :44:55. | |
the United States after the deal over destroyers, and Kenya, which | :44:56. | :45:02. | |
fought in East Africa and to have some members here for the first time | :45:03. | :45:05. | |
on parades during the march passed today. -- march-past. The next group | :45:06. | :45:19. | |
is led off by Malta, who were awarded the George Cross, whose | :45:20. | :45:23. | |
harbour was so crucial to provide goods during the war in North | :45:24. | :45:33. | |
Africa, and which the Axis bombed and tried to start into submission. | :45:34. | :45:38. | |
Zambia, Singapore, Botswana, Lesotho, Barbados and Mauritius. You | :45:39. | :45:54. | |
will see in each contingent, one person giving the orders as they | :45:55. | :46:02. | |
come out and turn together back to their place. The next group led by | :46:03. | :46:08. | |
Swaziland, whose King gathered together a group of young men to go | :46:09. | :46:13. | |
and fight with Britain in the Second World War. Tonga, Fiji, Bangladesh, | :46:14. | :46:18. | |
the Bahamas governed by the Duke of Windsor, grenade, Papa New Guinea, | :46:19. | :46:26. | |
the Seychelles, the Commonwealth of Dominique and St Lucia. -- Granada. | :46:27. | :46:43. | |
And the final group, Belize, the Maldives, Saint Christopher | :46:44. | :46:54. | |
needless, Namibia, Cameroon, and finally two members of the | :46:55. | :47:00. | |
Commonwealth who had no colonial link, Rwanda and Mozambique. | :47:01. | :47:20. | |
The next wreath will be laid by the Ambassador of Ireland to Great | :47:21. | :47:30. | |
Britain in memory of 200,000 volunteers from Ireland who served | :47:31. | :47:35. | |
in World War I, of whom 35,000 lost their lives. | :47:36. | :47:56. | |
Next, the service chiefs, the Green wreath there laid by the Irish | :47:57. | :48:09. | |
ambassador. Admiral Sir George Zambellas, Sir Nicholas Carter for | :48:10. | :48:13. | |
the army and Sir Andrew Pulford for the Royal Air Force, the Chief of | :48:14. | :48:17. | |
the Defence Staff doesn't lay a wreath, just those three. And the | :48:18. | :48:26. | |
civilian chiefs for low, the Merchant Navy, all important in the | :48:27. | :48:31. | |
battle of the Atlantic, represented by Captain Jim Connolly. The new | :48:32. | :48:48. | |
chair of the national Chief police Council there. As soon as they are | :48:49. | :48:50. | |
packing their place service begins. O, Almighty God, grant we beseech | :48:51. | :48:54. | |
thee that we who here do honour to the memory of those who have died in | :48:55. | :48:58. | |
the service of their country and of the Crown may be so inspired by the | :48:59. | :49:04. | |
spirit of their love and fortitude that, forgetting all selfish | :49:05. | :49:10. | |
and unworthy motives, we may live only to thy glory | :49:11. | :49:17. | |
and to the service of mankind, # Short as the watch | :49:18. | :49:22. | |
that ends the night # Be thou our guide | :49:23. | :51:08. | |
while troubles last Teach us, good Lord, to serve thee | :51:09. | :51:37. | |
as thou deservest, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not | :51:38. | :51:51. | |
to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest, to labour and not | :51:52. | :51:58. | |
ask for any reward, save that of knowing that we will do thy will, | :51:59. | :52:06. | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. Our Father, which art in Heaven, | :52:07. | :52:17. | |
hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be | :52:18. | :52:20. | |
done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, | :52:21. | :52:26. | |
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass | :52:27. | :52:31. | |
against us. And lead us not into temptation, | :52:32. | :52:35. | |
but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and | :52:36. | :52:40. | |
the glory, for ever and ever, Amen. Unto God's gracious mercy | :52:41. | :52:49. | |
and protection we commit you. The Lord make his face to shine | :52:50. | :52:53. | |
upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up the light | :52:54. | :53:03. | |
of his countenance upon you and give The Queen lead to the Royal family | :53:04. | :54:56. | |
-- leading the Royal family away from Whitehall, that part of the | :54:57. | :55:02. | |
ceremonial here over. The brief service and the laying of the | :55:03. | :55:12. | |
wreaths. The Duke of Cambridge will be going on to horse guards and he | :55:13. | :55:18. | |
will take the salute of the 10,500 people waiting further up Whitehall | :55:19. | :55:22. | |
to march past the Cenotaph. They have been watching this service on | :55:23. | :55:28. | |
huge television screens whilst standing there waiting. They haven't | :55:29. | :55:32. | |
been missing, they have been taking part, singing the hymns and saying | :55:33. | :55:39. | |
the prayers. And the clergy, the choir of the Chapel Royal whose | :55:40. | :55:44. | |
history goes back to the seventh century, and they say two of their | :55:45. | :55:53. | |
senior members wrote a song in 1415. The choir is led by Jason, who | :55:54. | :56:10. | |
has a scholarship. The person who carries the cross has always been a | :56:11. | :56:20. | |
member of the choir before. And the Sergeant of the Vestry, the Forces | :56:21. | :56:23. | |
Chaplain and the Sub-Dean of the Chapel Royal, and of course the | :56:24. | :56:29. | |
Bishop of London, Doctor Richard Chartres. And after the clergy, the | :56:30. | :56:55. | |
politicians. The Speaker of the House of Commons on the bottom right | :56:56. | :57:01. | |
of your screen, John Bercow. Tony Blair on the left, Sir John Major, | :57:02. | :57:07. | |
Gordon Brown, the Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, Boris Johnson, the | :57:08. | :57:14. | |
Mayor of London. The politicians move off and after them, the High | :57:15. | :57:20. | |
Commissioners, and shortly there will be space created for the march | :57:21. | :57:24. | |
passed to begin but in the meantime let's rejoin Sophie Raworth. I'm | :57:25. | :57:32. | |
here with Lisa and her family. Your son was killed five years ago in | :57:33. | :57:36. | |
Afghanistan. He was 19 years old and he died trying to protect a | :57:37. | :57:44. | |
comrade. Yes, he did, he was doing covering fire when they got the | :57:45. | :57:48. | |
injured soldier out and that's when he got shot as well. What does it | :57:49. | :57:53. | |
mean for you to be here today? It means a lot because it shows the | :57:54. | :57:57. | |
support everybody gives to fallen soldiers and it is a mark of respect | :57:58. | :58:02. | |
really. I read some of the citations about your son written after he | :58:03. | :58:07. | |
died, and by all accounts, a wonderful, funny, everyone talks | :58:08. | :58:12. | |
about his mischievous grin and a wonderful laugh. Yes, the cheeky | :58:13. | :58:17. | |
chappie all the way. He would rather be making people smile than see them | :58:18. | :58:23. | |
cry. George, it was your idea to come here in the first place. You | :58:24. | :58:27. | |
have come here every year for four years. Why did you come here? I | :58:28. | :58:35. | |
wanted to show how proud he was and of all the other soldiers as well. | :58:36. | :58:40. | |
And standing here now, the public support, how does it make you feel? | :58:41. | :58:46. | |
It makes me feel proud of the respect everybody has for the | :58:47. | :58:51. | |
soldiers. You are marching with the rifles regimental association, how | :58:52. | :58:56. | |
much help of you had from them? They are always hear from me, even today. | :58:57. | :59:02. | |
I have messages from Martin's comrades and friends in the army. If | :59:03. | :59:08. | |
I have any queries, I turn to be Rifles and they help me. Hugely | :59:09. | :59:12. | |
important for you. Yes, very important. I have also been | :59:13. | :59:20. | |
introduced to other bereaved families who understand how I feel, | :59:21. | :59:24. | |
which is hard because a lot of people don't understand how I feel. | :59:25. | :59:28. | |
There are a lot of people you can talk to today who know what you feel | :59:29. | :59:34. | |
like and what you go through. Yes, people listen to you, but unless | :59:35. | :59:37. | |
you've been in the situation it is hard to understand how you feel. | :59:38. | :59:44. | |
With Sapphire and the Rifles, they help you a lot. You can take your | :59:45. | :59:53. | |
place. Thank you very much. Trumpet voluntary plays and the | :59:54. | :59:58. | |
president of the British Legion approaches the Cenotaph with the | :59:59. | :00:02. | |
wreath to be laid on behalf of the Royal British Legion. The oldest | :00:03. | :00:08. | |
among the largest charity supporting the British forces, who organise the | :00:09. | :00:12. | |
march-past. You can see the chalk circles on the | :00:13. | :00:33. | |
base of the Cenotaph where the wreaths are laid, they need to make | :00:34. | :00:36. | |
sure everyone is laid in the right spot, so they do not crowd to one | :00:37. | :00:40. | |
end of the other. The next wreaths will be laid on behalf of London | :00:41. | :00:48. | |
Transport. Air Vice-Marshal David Whitaker, the area president of | :00:49. | :00:52. | |
Scotland and Northern Ireland, for the Royal Air Force association. And | :00:53. | :00:58. | |
the national chairman of the Royal Naval Association. Patrick Mitford | :00:59. | :01:03. | |
Slade of the Royal Commonwealth Pool Ex Services League. And the Royal | :01:04. | :01:07. | |
British Legion Scotland represented by Janet Harvey, and the Women's | :01:08. | :01:13. | |
Section, the national chairman, Marilyn Humphrey. The Royal Naval | :01:14. | :01:24. | |
Association with the distinctive wreath in the form of an anchor in | :01:25. | :01:28. | |
the centre there. It is now coming up towards half | :01:29. | :02:17. | |
past 11. In a few moments' time, | :02:18. | :02:20. | |
the march-past will start, and thousands will pay | :02:21. | :02:23. | |
their respects at the Cenotaph. Among them are veterans | :02:24. | :02:26. | |
of the Second World War, marking the 70th anniversary | :02:27. | :02:29. | |
of the end of this conflict. Four of those who served in that | :02:30. | :02:35. | |
war recall those difficult times. Everybody around me | :02:36. | :02:44. | |
was being called up, and I couldn't see myself | :02:45. | :02:47. | |
as a soldier. because I was young and fit | :02:48. | :02:52. | |
and ready for anything, really. I went into the ATS in 1942 | :02:53. | :02:58. | |
and I worked on ack-ack. As a 14-year-old boy, I joined | :02:59. | :03:03. | |
the British Army as a boy soldier. The war started | :03:04. | :03:14. | |
during my boy service. And at 17 and a half, | :03:15. | :03:17. | |
they were desperate for paratroops, I got my wings in February 1943 | :03:18. | :03:20. | |
and was posted to 656 Squadron, the only squadron to be posted | :03:21. | :03:31. | |
to the Far East. We were on the banks of the Humber, | :03:32. | :03:37. | |
and we were defending Hull. You could be in bed, | :03:38. | :03:43. | |
and the alarm would go. You'd jump into your boots | :03:44. | :03:46. | |
and grab your greatcoat. Your steel helmet would be there, | :03:47. | :03:49. | |
and you'd go. Sometimes we were called out | :03:50. | :03:51. | |
three and four times in the night. Hull was the worst-bombed place | :03:52. | :03:54. | |
in Britain that I ever saw. They wanted us to be ready | :03:55. | :03:59. | |
for the invasion of Germany, You get to your drop zone | :04:00. | :04:07. | |
and you're at the door and out! And you go out of that aeroplane one | :04:08. | :04:14. | |
at a time, bang-bang-bang-bang-bang. When you jump out of an aeroplane, | :04:15. | :04:19. | |
the slipstream gets you, you know. We went to Normandy. | :04:20. | :04:23. | |
We landed at Gold Beach. And one got killed right | :04:24. | :04:30. | |
by the side of me, and I thought, | :04:31. | :04:38. | |
"Oh, it's dangerous here." We were street-fighting, | :04:39. | :04:40. | |
forest clearing, and that's when I got injured, and | :04:41. | :04:48. | |
I lost two of my close colleagues. This leg, which was hanging on | :04:49. | :04:52. | |
by a piece of skin, I put on top of this leg | :04:53. | :04:57. | |
and crawled into a culvert. And that's when I injected myself | :04:58. | :05:01. | |
with the morphine, because I knew the pain would come | :05:02. | :05:06. | |
sooner or later. The night the war ended, | :05:07. | :05:12. | |
I felt a sort of vacuum. Because I knew | :05:13. | :05:16. | |
that was the beginning And it changed my whole attitude | :05:17. | :05:19. | |
to ever so many things It changes your attitude | :05:20. | :05:24. | |
to all kinds of things. When the Second World War | :05:25. | :05:31. | |
came along, everybody grew up. Or a woman, | :05:32. | :05:34. | |
whichever the case may be. And I think to myself, | :05:35. | :05:40. | |
whatever the Second World War was, They say "War to end all wars", | :05:41. | :05:43. | |
but it never works. And I look back and I think, | :05:44. | :05:52. | |
"Will this world ever be peaceful?" I hope it will be, | :05:53. | :05:57. | |
because it's a wonderful world and everybody could | :05:58. | :06:00. | |
and should enjoy it. I always think of | :06:01. | :06:05. | |
a nameless soldier who had been washed down the Irrawaddy, | :06:06. | :06:09. | |
and his body was lying on the sand. For nearly a couple of weeks, | :06:10. | :06:17. | |
I flew out over him. I mean, there's an awful lot | :06:18. | :06:22. | |
of chaps out there we left behind, And really they do... | :06:23. | :06:29. | |
they do need special remembrance. So many left behind, and they do | :06:30. | :07:00. | |
need special remembrance. I am joined by World War II veteran | :07:01. | :07:05. | |
Donald Smith, who fought with the Seaforth Highlanders, captured in | :07:06. | :07:10. | |
France in June 1940. Who do you remember when you come here today? | :07:11. | :07:21. | |
Well, five friends, who joined the Seaforth, and we promised, whoever | :07:22. | :07:24. | |
was left, we would come back to remember those lads. These young men | :07:25. | :07:33. | |
were 18, 19, 20 years old. I spent my 19th birthday in hospital, | :07:34. | :07:39. | |
wounded. It is because of these lads, I am very fortunate to | :07:40. | :07:43. | |
survive, but they are left behind, like many more. You are 95 years old | :07:44. | :07:50. | |
now, you only came here for the first time three years ago, what | :07:51. | :07:54. | |
prompted you to come then? To keep the promise to those men, those | :07:55. | :07:59. | |
young lads, my friends that I left behind there, to keep that promise, | :08:00. | :08:07. | |
remember them. So it was a touching ceremony, and I am proud to do it. | :08:08. | :08:13. | |
It is a long time ago now, but still clearly, for you, incredibly | :08:14. | :08:18. | |
emotional. These days, when you remember the two minutes' silence, | :08:19. | :08:26. | |
it comes back. So many of these lads are still out there, proud to | :08:27. | :08:34. | |
remember them. There is also a wonderful camaraderie here, all the | :08:35. | :08:39. | |
veterans who are here. They are so kind. It is wonderful. It is a | :08:40. | :08:48. | |
moving day, I am proud to be here. Extra special for you to be here, 70 | :08:49. | :08:52. | |
years ago that you were liberated from a German prisoner of war camp. | :08:53. | :08:58. | |
Yes, that is true. By the American third Army, General Clark, but what | :08:59. | :09:05. | |
a wonderful thing it was to be free again, to get home, back to our | :09:06. | :09:11. | |
families. Well, Donald Smith, wonderful to talk to you here on | :09:12. | :09:16. | |
Whitehall. I will let you take your place in the march-past, thank you | :09:17. | :09:24. | |
so much. Thank you. Thank you. 250 groups marching here this | :09:25. | :09:35. | |
morning at Whitehall, 10,500 people. And many of them, when you | :09:36. | :09:41. | |
talk to them, are now, of course, young people who did not fight in | :09:42. | :09:47. | |
the war, the Second World War, but there are many people, when you talk | :09:48. | :09:51. | |
to them, they are here because they said to their fathers that they | :09:52. | :09:57. | |
would come. And they represent their regiments, their ships, their | :09:58. | :10:06. | |
squadrons of the Royal Air Force. And the mood changing slightly now | :10:07. | :10:12. | |
as, the service over, people relax a bit. As before the service, they are | :10:13. | :10:17. | |
getting together, as in the days before, meeting up with friends. The | :10:18. | :10:26. | |
music ends, and now we're ready for the beginning of the. This year, the | :10:27. | :10:37. | |
Reconnaissance Corps is leading off the march-past. They were, as they | :10:38. | :10:42. | |
put it, they only had the enemy in front, every other beggar behind, | :10:43. | :10:48. | |
because when they went into action, they lead off. The youngest veteran | :10:49. | :10:51. | |
marching today is 89 years old. And here they come, the | :10:52. | :11:14. | |
Reconnaissance Corps, with their distinctive cap badges, a spearhead | :11:15. | :11:20. | |
issuing shafts of light. Set up when the Light Cavalry had to be | :11:21. | :11:24. | |
replaced, the new reconnaissance force created. | :11:25. | :11:31. | |
Or five of the veterans on parades today served in northern France and | :11:32. | :11:35. | |
saw action at D-Day. -- all five. And as every contingent, they will | :11:36. | :11:56. | |
lay their wreath, which will be placed at the foot of the Cenotaph. | :11:57. | :12:05. | |
They are followed by the Royal Horse Artillery, the Royal Artillery | :12:06. | :12:18. | |
Association, the Royal Engineers, and their bomb disposal Association, | :12:19. | :12:23. | |
celebrating their 75th anniversary, served in all recent campaigns, in | :12:24. | :12:31. | |
Iraq and Afghanistan, but they were in the service at St Paul's | :12:32. | :12:33. | |
Cathedral this year. They date back to the days of the Blitz, 1940. They | :12:34. | :12:42. | |
are followed by the Airborne Engineers, Royal Signals, and the | :12:43. | :12:47. | |
Army Air Corps. The Army Air Corps Association | :12:48. | :13:21. | |
wearing their black berets, behind them the Royal Army Service Corps. | :13:22. | :13:52. | |
The Royal Pioneer Corps, wearing their navy blue ties, commemorating | :13:53. | :14:03. | |
the sinking of the Lancastrian, when they lost many of their men. The | :14:04. | :14:15. | |
Light Engineers, the Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, their job, of | :14:16. | :14:20. | |
course, to keep things working. Before them, the Army Catering | :14:21. | :14:30. | |
Corps, all-important, an army marches on its stomach, according to | :14:31. | :14:33. | |
Frederick the Great or Napoleon, whichever you prefer. The | :14:34. | :14:44. | |
Educational Services Training the Royal Army Pay Corps, the Royal | :14:45. | :14:57. | |
Military Police, bright red berets, unlike the maroon of the paratroops. | :14:58. | :15:02. | |
They were formed in 1946 after the war. Queen Alexander does Royal Army | :15:03. | :15:20. | |
Nursing Corps. We saw Terry talking to Sophie Raworth. They were most | :15:21. | :15:27. | |
recently deployed in Sierra Leone, where they had a facility to look | :15:28. | :15:30. | |
after people trying to treat those with | :15:31. | :15:33. |