Armistice Day: Crowd gathers in Reading to remember the fallen

Mayor David Stevens led the two minutes silence marking Armistice Day, when the armistice was signed on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918.

King George V asked the public to hold a period of silence at 11am following the end of World War One, but since the outbreak of World War Two and subsequent wars, the silence has become an opportunity for the country to remember all those who have fallen in combat.

“Today is a moment when we stop, pause, reflect and think of those who have died in particular the first world war but obviously the second and subsequent wars,” said Mayor Stevens, whose grandfather served in WWI and whose father served in WWII.

A man wrapped in a flag bearing the words 'Lest We Forget' stands at the Forbury Gardens War Memorial

“It’s a very poignant, thoughtful thing and you have to keep remembering that we are a democratic, law abiding country and there’s a cost of achieving that.”

Read more: Remembrance Day: When you should observe a two-minute silence this week

Following the silence, the crowd watched as the Mayor laid a wreath on the war memorial.

One member of the crowd was Benny Hill, who arrived on a motorbike with flags bearing ‘Lest we forget’.

“It’s to remember my friends, my brothers over the century that have fallen to buy my freedom,” he said.

“I’ve got to say thank you to them.”

Craig Godbehere and Benny Hill who attended the memorial today

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Craig Godbehere, who also attended, explained why he was there: “To remember everybody, not just British forces but any forces that fought for our freedom that we love and enjoy today.”

“I personally know quite a few people that have served, a couple that have died in combat so remembering them is part of it.”

Remembrance Sunday will take place this Sunday, November 14, with another period of silence.