2017 Highlights Remembrance Sunday: The Cenotaph

Good morning from London.

On this Remembrance Sunday,

thousands of veterans

and their families come to the heart

of this city to pay tribute to those

who have died in war.

The setting - the iconic buildings.

Westminster Abbey, on the left,

the Houses of Parliament,

on the right, and beyond,

the Elizabeth Tower,

in which hangs Big Ben.

Its familiar sound used to mark

the hours, but for the past few

months, it has been silent

as repairs are made to the Tower.

This weekend, it has been briefly

reprieved to ring out 11

o'clock and the start

of the Two Minutes' Silence.

The ceremony this morning takes

place around the Cenotaph

in the middle of Whitehall.

Since 8am, people have been passing

through security barriers to find

a place to watch the ceremony.

They come from all over

the United Kingdom and abroad.

Some, many, in the front

row for the first time.

They stand ten deep here,

some bring young children,

some are here because their parents

or grandparents are too old to come

any more, but they want

the day to be remembered.

At the heart of the ceremony,

the Cenotaph, built in 1920,

to commemorate the dead

in the First World War.

1914-1918.

The First World War was a war

so brutal that it was hoped

it would end the use of war

as a political weapon.

The truth was otherwise.

From the Second World War

in 1939-1945, there has barely been

a year without more deaths

to commemorate,

more seriously wounded to restore

to some kind of life,

and more families to console.

So here in London, and in churches

and war memorials across the country

and abroad, there is much to reflect

on this November weekend.

Her Majesty the Queen,

who has laid a wreath on behalf

of the nation almost every year

since she came to the throne,

in 1952, will this year no longer

fulfill that duty, but will watch

from a balcony as Prince Charles

lays a wreath on her behalf.

Buckingham Palace says this

is because she wants to be

beside the Duke of Edinburgh.

He has given up his official duties.

She will be looking down

on the veterans waiting

to march past later,

and on the hollow square,

the formal part of the parade

that surrounds the Cenotaph.

This morning of Remembrance

begins with the Massed Bands

of the Household Division,

and what is called

the traditional music.

Under the direction

of Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Roberts,

the senior director of music,

appearing here for the last time.

He starts with the stirring

sound of Rule Britannia.

MUSIC: Rule Britannia - Arne.

The official march of

the Royal Navy, Heart Of Oak.

MUSIC: Heart Of Oak - Boyce.

And now the Massed

Bands play Isle Of Beauty,

David Of The White Rock

and Oft In The Stilly Night.

MUSIC: Isle of Beauty - trad arr.

Everyone who has come to march

past the Cenotaph today

has a story to tell.

Thousands of stories

of physical and mental pain,

of stress and of the misery of loss.

Let's hear three of those stories.

I was shot by sniper rifle.

A large bullet had gone

through my neck, and it had taken

most of my spinal cord.

I heard a bang, and that's

when the other guy who was with me

said, "Mark, I think

you've been shot."

They said, you know,

with the extent of my injuries

they've come to the conclusion

that I'm never going to be

able to walk again.

My whole world had

just ended really.

I think if someone had

come and said right,

I would have asked them

to finish the job off really.

I've done some extremely hard

courses in my Army career,

but that was probably the hardest

thing I've done, my rehabilitation.

I ended up walking out

on a walking stick.

I was assessed to have severe

post-traumatic stress disorder

caused by my time in the Falklands.

I was having night terrors.

I became very combative,

argumentative

with my children

and with my wife.

My wife was coming to the end

of her tether, and she said that

I had to go for help.

And she actually came with me

to the doctor's surgery.

I started to talk,

but I just broke down.

I went on the six-week

course recommended to me

by my psychologist.

I met people who were going through

exactly the same thing as I was.

Since having treatment,

I've been able to cope a lot better.

Charlie Henry Wood was my

husband, and he was killed

in Afghanistan on 28th

December 2010.

He told me that he loved me,

but if anything happened he'd

want me to continue with my life.

I told him to go out there, stay

safe, and don't try and be a hero.

That he just needed to make sure

that he came home in one piece,

and to bring all his

soldiers with him.

I still think to this day

that he knew that he was never

going to come home.

Obviously the normal situation

would be that they would come

to the house to tell me,

but obviously they couldn't track me

down because it was Christmas.

I was away from home.

A gentleman came on the phone and he

asked if I was Mrs Heather Wood,

and I knew straight away.

And suddenly within a split

second my whole life had gone.

I'd lost everything.

The day that Charlie died,

there was 9,000 troops

in Afghanistan at that time,

and Charlie was the one

that got killed.

Massed Bands.

Stand at ease.

MUSIC: Flowers Of

The Forest - trad arr.

The Pipes and Drums playing now

have a reputation

for showing quite extraordinary

courage in battle,

leading the troops over

the top of the trenches.

500 pipers were killed

in World War I.

They play now the lament

the Flowers Of The Forest.

Massed Bands...

Massed Bands...

Attention!

Now the haunting notes

of the most reflective

of Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations,

Nimrod.

MUSIC: Nimrod - Elgar.

Dido's Lament by Henry Purcell.

"When I am laid in earth,

remember me but forget my fate."

It plays as we wait

for the procession of clergy

and choir who will lead

the Service of Remembrance.

A crossbearer, Edward Fanshawe,

leads the children and gentlemen

of the Chapel Royal.

The Sub-Dean of the Chapel Royal,

and former Bishop of London,

Dr Richard Chartres,

who will be conducting the service.

Here, led by Theresa May

the Prime Minister,

and Jeremy Corbyn,

the Leader of the Opposition,

come the politicians.

The leader of the SNP on the left,

former Prime Ministers behind,

Sir John Major, Tony Blair.

The Chief of the Defence Staff,

Sir Stuart Piech,

the First Sea Lord,

the Chief of the General Staff,

the Chief of the Air Staff.

And the long line

of High Commissioners,

45 High Commissioners,

what you might call the ambassadors

the Commonwealth countries.

They are joined by the new Irish

ambassador, laying the green wreath.

And as they line up,

we are waiting

for the 15 different

religious denominations

who come here to take

part in the service.

The Roman Catholic Church,

the free churches,

the Buddhist faith, the Methodists,

the Islamic adviser,

and the imam of the Armed Forces,

the Hindu chaplain

to the Armed Forces,

the president of the Baptist Union,

the Network of Sikh Organisations,

Reform Judaism,

the Salvation Army,

the Greek Orthodox Church,

and the Church of Scotland

represented here.

Behind, you just saw

the Major-Generals parade,

the Household Division,

coming on parade

to take their place.

The Prince of Wales leads out seven

members of the Royal Family.

He will be laying the wreath

that is normally laid by Her Majesty

the Queen on behalf of the nation.

The Duke of Cambridge,

Prince Henry of Wales,

the Duke of York,

the Earl of Wessex.

The Princess Royal and Duke of Kent

are there and their equerries.

And on the balcony,

the Duke of Edinburgh

and the Queen, watching.

As we approach the 11 o'clock

and the two-minute silence.

BIG BEN CHIMES THE HOUR

GUNS FIRE

MUSIC: Last Post

The Prince of Wales first lays

the wreath on behalf of the Queen.

And he will later lay one

on his own behalf.

The Queen watching from the balcony

with the Duke of Edinburgh

beside her.

And now, on behalf of

the Duke of Edinburgh,

the equerry lays his wreath.

And now the Prince of Wales

lays his own wreath.

The Prince of Wales,

who's colonel in chief

of a host of regiments,

who commanded in the Royal Navy

and was a helicopter pilot,

as many members of the Royal Family

have seen a career

in the services.

He is followed by

the Duke of Cambridge.

The Duke of Cambridge comes

with Prince Henry of Wales,

his brother, and the Duke of York.

All three of them have served.

The Duke of Cambridge,

seven and a half years

of military service.

Prince Henry of Wales,

two tours of Afghanistan.

The Duke of York

in the Royal Navy

and Sea King helicopters

in the Falklands.

Watched from the balcony

by Princess Alexandra

and the Duchess of Cambridge

in the middle

and the Countess of Wessex.

The Princess Royal,

the Duke of Kent,

and the Earl of Wessex

lay their wreaths.

The Princess Royal

is Admiral and Chief Commandant

for women in the Royal Navy.

Parade, stand at ease!

The politicians' turn now, led

by the Prime Minister, Theresa May.

MUSIC: The Supreme

Sacrifice - Harris.

The Leader of the Opposition,

Jeremy Corbyn.

Ian Blackford on behalf

of the Scottish National Party,

their leader

in the House of Commons,

and on behalf also of Plaid Cymru,

the Welsh National party.

He is followed by Vince Cable,

the new leader

of the Liberal Democrats.

Nigel Dodds, the leader

of the Democratic Unionist Party,

in the House of Commons

for Northern Ireland.

And now in an addition

to this ceremony,

the Speaker of the House of Commons,

John Bercow.

And the Speaker of the House

of Lords, Lord Fowler.

After him, the Foreign Secretary,

Boris Johnson, who lays flowers

on behalf of the Overseas

Territories, places like Bermuda,

Cayman Islands and Falklands

and Gibraltar and St Helena.

Now the first of the

High Commissioners.

Led this time, they normally come

at the end, but they

are the oldest members

of the Commonwealth,

Canada, Australia, New Zealand,

South Africa and India,

all of whom had thousands

and thousands of people serving both

in the First and Second World War.

Indeed, India, whose

Acting Commissioner is here,

and was said to have nearly

2.5 million people by August

1945 under arms.

They are followed by

the High Commissioners,

or Deputy High Commissioners,

of Pakistan, Sri Lanka,

Ghana, Malaysia, Nigeria,

Cyprus, Sierra Leone,

Tanzania, Jamaica,

Trinidad & Tobago, and Uganda.

Following them, Kenya, Malawi,

Malta, the George Cross,

Zambia, Singapore, Guyana,

Botswana and Lesotho.

And now Barbados, Mauritius,

Swaziland, Tonga, Fiji,

Bangladesh, The Bahamas,

Grenada, Papua New Guinea

and the Seychelles.

And the final group

of High Commissioners

from the Commonwealth of Dominica,

St Lucia,

St Vincent

& The Grenadines.

Belize, Antigua & Barbuda,

St Christopher & Nevis,

Brunei Darussalam, Namibia,

Cameroon, Mozambique and Rwanda.

They are followed by

the Ambassador of Ireland

to Great Britain, Adrian O'Neill.

The Irish regiments, who served way

back, the Irish Guards,

established under Queen Victoria,

fought in both world wars.

The service chiefs come next,

the Chief of the Defence Staff,

Sir Stuart Peach, doesn't himself

lay a wreath, but for

the Royal Navy, Sir Philip Jones,

for the Army, General Sir Nicholas

Carter, and for the Royal Air Force,

Sir Stephen Hillier.

They are followed by

the civilian chiefs.

For the Merchant Navy

and Fishing Fleets,

Captain Martin Reed.

From the Air Transport Auxiliary

Association, Adrian Lead.

For the civilian services,

Sara Thornton, who chairs

the National Police Chief's Council.

Almighty God, grant, we beseech

thee, that we who here do honour

to the memory of those who have died

in the service of their country

and of the Crown, may be so inspired

by the spirit of their love

and fortitude, that forgetting

all selfish and unworthy motives

we may live only to thy glory

and to the service of mankind

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.

# O God our help in ages past

# Our hope for years to come

# Our shelter from the stormy blast

# And our eternal home

# Beneath the shadow of thy throne

# Thy saints have dwelt secure

# Sufficient is thine arm alone

# And our defence is sure

# A thousand ages in thy sight

# Are like an evening gone

# Short as the watch

that ends the night

# Before the rising sun

# O God our help in ages past

# Our hope in years to come

# Be though our guard

while troubles last

# And our eternal home #.

Our Father,

Which art in Heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done

On earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses

As we forgive those

who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power and the glory

For ever and ever.

Amen.

Unto God's gracious mercy

and protection we commit you.

The Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine

upon you, and be gracious unto you.

The Lord lift up the light

of his countenance upon you

and give you his peace

this day and always.

Amen.

Parade...

Parade...

Attention.

MUSIC: Rouse.

# God save our gracious Queen

# Long live our noble Queen

# God save the Queen

# Send her victorious

# Happy and glorious

# Long to reign over us

# God save the Queen. #

The Queen leaves the balcony,

and the members of the Royal Family

leave Whitehall, led

by Prince Charles, who laid that

wreath on behalf of the Queen.

Now the clergy will leave next.

Led by Dr Chartres, the Dean

of the Chapel Royal.

And then the politicians,

those serving today,

and behind them the second group,

former Prime Ministers,

and then other members of the House

of Commons and the House of Lords

and the Mayor of London,

Sadiq Khan, at the end.

And so we are waiting now,

and there's quite a long pause,

before we come to the start

of the march-past.

So let's join Sophie Raworth.

There are people of all ages taking

part in the march-past today,

but I'm here with the oldest veteran

who's taking part, he is 99 years

old, he's called Ernie Searling,

and it's your first time here,

a former Royal Marine.

What does it mean to you to be here?

I feel very humble, seeing

so many hundreds of men

and women on parade today.

So very, very humble.

I'm thinking of those that are not

with us on parade today.

Some fine people I served

with, and we lost them.

All I hope is that the future

generations can see this parade,

see some solidarity in it and see

that the betterment

of mankind in England,

especially Great Britain,

should be at its highest level.

We don't want street fights,

we don't want arguments,

we don't want racial injustice.

All of those things are horrible.

Ernie, it is fantastic to see

you here, and it's an honour to talk

to you here at the Cenotaph.

What a wonderful description

of what the Second World War

was fought for in his mind.

His hopes for the future,

as the President of

the Royal British Legion,

Air Marshal David Walker, lays

his wreath on behalf

of the Royal British Legion,

and then other members

of the Royal British Legion,

who organise this

march-past, will follow.

So the first half of today's

act of Remembrance,

the more formal part,

is over now, and in a few minutes,

the second, in many ways,

to some people, perhaps the most

moving part begins with

the march-past of veterans

and sometimes of their families too.

What actually brings people

here to the Cenotaph?

It is always worth hearing.

Four of those taking part explain.

I was a pilot in the Fleet Air Arm,

flying aircraft off

of aircraft carriers.

We were flying strikes

over mainland Japan.

We came in over the hedge

and were strafing any

aircraft we could see.

I could see Wally because we were

only about 50 yards apart.

His aircraft started to drop.

The aircraft slowly

went into the ground.

It was quite hard to take, really.

I was deployed to Afghanistan.

The morning of July 8th 2010,

we set out on our patrol.

The sun was just about coming up,

and that was the last

sunrise I'd ever see.

Our team got contacted by an IED.

I lost my left eye straight away.

I had other serious head injuries.

By the time I got back to the UK,

I was informed that my right eye

would have to be removed as well.

In 1943, I joined the First

Aid Nursing Yeomanry.

I was told, "You're going to be

a wireless operator".

We worked to what I now know

was people in Europe,

but, of course, at the time

we didn't know that.

Certainly by that time we knew

we were working for SOE.

They were stirring up trouble behind

the lines in Europe.

Years later, when everything

was exposed, one learns

that the people that we were talking

to, as it were, was a group

of Norwegians who were

on the heavy water plant,

which we blew up very

successfully and was,

in fact, one of the biggest,

I think, successes of the SOE reach.

I wanted to do something useful

so I volunteered for Korea.

I was on Hill 217.

We were vastly outnumbered.

We were losing men,

and we made up our minds

we were going to stay there,

and that's all we did.

Because you just can't fight

for a hill and then lose it,

because you've got to go back

and retake it again,

and that's when you lose the men.

We managed to really

stabilise our part of Korea.

And we're very proud of that.

We remember the guys

who fought with us.

The guys that volunteered.

The guys that were enlisted,

the national servicemen -

they gave their lives

and we all fought side by side.

When I went back to Japan

five years ago,

I made a point

of going to the cemetery

where Wally's remains are

and laid a wreath at his stone.

When I read the engraving

on it, and his age, 22,

it really brought home to me the

opening lines of the exultation.

"They shall grow not old

as we that are left grow old."

A lot of us went out to Europe

and were the wireless operators.

And indeed 13 of them were killed.

And it's certainly them that I think

of when I go past the Cenotaph.

And then I think about the modern

wars, which are horrendous too.

People from my regiment

came down to see me.

They informed me that Sam Robinson

had been killed in the incident.

That hit me a lot worse

than the news of losing my sight.

It's important to me that

I still go and show my respect

for what people have sacrificed.

I've lost my sight, but what we're

going to show there,

what the point of being there

is to show respect

for the people

who have given everything.

The order is given

for the march-past.

The band leads off and the music

changes to more popular tunes,

you will recognise some

of them, no doubt.

It's A Long Way To Tipperary

and other famous marching songs

will play to keep them cheerful

as they march, in all something

like a mile and a half,

which for many of them

is a long way.

The London Scottish Regimental

Association is there,

commemorating the actions of

the 2nd Battalion in the Palestinian

campaign 100 years ago.

And the Gurkha Brigade Association,

led by the General Sir David Dill,

They have served on British ground

since 1815, famous of course,

for their courage in warfare.

They have won 26 Victoria Crosses.

The Aden Veterans Association

marching past now,

who fought in Aden, part of Yemen,

celebrating the 50th anniversary

of the emergency in Aden.

Followed by the Special Forces Club.

Anne Van Gruisen is among them.

We heard her talking earlier

on this morning

about why she was marching

and her experiences in the SOE,

Help For Heroes, which is

a new charity, well,

which is celebrating

its tenth birthday,

is on parade today,

launched particularly to help

those who were badly injured.

It has already helped 17,000 sick

and wounded veterans.

The Royal Hospital Chelsea,

Bill Speakman, VC, talking earlier

and Lance Sergeant Johnson Beharry,

also VC, pushing his wheelchair.

And now, Combat Stress.

There is a much greater openness,

and thank goodness for it,

about mental health issues

which used to be covered up

and swept under the carpet.

All of the people marching

with Combat Stress have been treated

for mental health conditions.

The oldest is a veteran of Cyprus

and the youngest of Afghanistan.

This is the distinct maroon beret

of the Parachute Regiment

led by Major-General Farrar-Hockley,

who fought at Goose Green

and the battle for Port

Stanley in the Falklands.

A long tradition of courage,

the Sixth Division carried

out their airborne crossing

of the Rhine, which led

towards victory in Europe in 1945.

The Black Watch Association,

five battalions.

There is Joe Hubble,

Sergeant Major,

being pushed in his wheelchair

by his son, Neale.

The Black Watch Association,

five battalions, fought

at the Battle of Passchendaele.

The wreath laid by Corporal Barty.

After leaving the Black Watch,

he became Queen Elizabeth

the Queen Mother's

driver until she died.

The Light Infantry Association.

This is the first time they have

marched past the Cenotaph

in their olive green blazers,

light infantry, amalgamated

like so many infantry regiments

to form The Rifles in 2007.

The Fusiliers Association from

Lancashire and their distinctive

red and white hackles on their caps.

The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers,

which have served in every conflict

the UK has participated in

in recent years.

The Scottish Rifles.

The association

formed ten years ago.

They went to the 100th anniversary

commemoration

of the Battle of Passchendaele.

As you can imagine,

there are a host of memories here,

so many regiments remembering

battles, and some of their

family members proudly carrying

the medals of their relatives,

either fathers or grandfathers

won in wars before.

The Army Air Corps Veteran

Association, the Army Air Corps,

which looks after its own fleet

of aircraft,

carries out observation

and liaison reconnaissance work.

The scarlet, and genuinely scarlet,

bright red berets

that mark out

the Royal Military Police.

Women in war joined

the Military Police Association

in 1919 and used to patrol ports

on key sites, for instance

they had a Dover patrol,

kept an eye on Dover and Folkestone

and the ships there.

And the Blind Veterans,

formerly St Dunstan's,

are passing the Cenotaph now.

We heard from Rob Long

talking about the last sunrise

that he would ever see.

The Ex-Prisoners Of

War Association,

John Nichol is always here.

He was shot down in a Tornado

when Saddam Hussein took Kuwait.

On the very first day of that war,

shot down and taken prisoner,

released several months later.

7 Squadron Association

of Bomber Command,

today operating Chinook helicopters

but remembering those,

over 1000 of 7 Squadron

killed in the Second World War.

The RAF 8 Squadron, the Royal Air

Force Mountain Rescue Association,

all of these members

of the Royal Air Force,

and the Women's Royal Air Force,

formed in the summer of 1939,

the Auxiliary Air Force.

Women at that stage

were put in charge of

repairing and maintaining aircraft

and vehicles,

women having first been recruited

into the Royal Air Force in 1918.

Keith Quilter who won

the Distinguished Service Medal.

From the Royal Air Force Survival

Equipment "Squippers" Association.

Keith Quilter, who talked about why

he was marching past.

And now the First Aid Nursing

Yeomanry into another column,

the FANYs who still operate

in civilian life, working in recent

tragedies at Westminster

and the Manchester bombing,

London Bridge, Grenfell Tower,

they are there still doing

their work, formed way back in 1907.

The Merchant Navy Association,

we talked to Vivien Foster,

the National President,

carrying that white anchor.

They say the Merchant Navy

was forgotten, like people

who fought in Burma say

they were the forgotten army

but now in reality,

we know they played an absolutely

crucial role in supplying

Britain in two world wars.

They are followed by

the naval contingents,

including the Flower Class,

one of the smallest warships

And among the other ships,

the Argonaut, the Ganges,

the Glasgow, the Hermes Association.

The ships named after villages

ending with "TON", like the one that

Prince Charles commanded in 1976.

And now what is called

the Fly Navy Federation,

a whole number of organisations

marching under the umbrella

of Fly Navy, set up in 2009

to celebrate 100 years

of naval aviation.

They say, which is interesting,

the Navy has been flying

more years than the Air Force,

who celebrate

their centenary in 2018.

Among them, the Fleet

Air Arm Armourers,

Fleet Air Arm Association,

the Buccaneer Association,

Field Gun Association,

and at the very back,

one man marching alone,

from the Cloud Observers

Association, Arthur Charles.

The Cloud Observers were men

and women of all ranks who served

in the meteorological branch

of the Royal Navy.

And now we move to the last column,

led by the Commonwealth

War Graves Commission,

Transport for London,

well remembered because London buses

carried the troops to the front

in the First World War,

and leading the Commonwealth

War Graves Commission.

St John Ambulance Cadets,

marching for the first time.

The Metropolitan Police Service.

Nearly 9000 people have

marched down Horse Guards.

We have been reminded

of the pain of war,

the suffering of the injured,

the loneliness of those who have

lost family, friends or lovers.

And we have perhaps given an answer

to that poet who wrote of the dark

months of the First World War,

"Have you forgotten yet?

Look up and swear by the green of

the spring you will never forget."