BRITISH TRIBUTE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 268, 12 November 1935, Page 7

BRITISH TRIBUTE.

UNDIMMED BY TIME.

Impressive Armistice Day Ceremonies.

GREAT SILENCE OBSERVED,

British Official Wireless. (Received 11.SO a.m.) RUGBY, November 11. Although there was bright sunshine in London this morning, following a week-end of exceptionally heavy rain, the air was damp and a light mist still hung abcut the buildings in Whitehall. In these circumstances it was considered inadvisable that the King should attend the annual Armistice Day ceremony at the Cenotaph and his place was taken by the Duke of York. The King and Queen left London later for Sandringham. The Prince of Wales acted for the King in a similar service at Edinburgh. The crowds who took part in the Cenotaph ceremony appeared to be larger than usual and Whitehall was closely packed with people. Elsewhere in London, where open-air services were held, and notably in the city, neighbouring streets were crowded. In every town and village throughout Britain the 17th anniversary of the Armistice was commemorated with a form of service similar to that at the Cenotaph, which was as usual attended by members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister, the Opposition LeadeK, Major Attlee, the Lord Chancellor, Viscount Hailsham, the Speaker, Captain Fitzßoy, Ministers, ex-Ministers, the High Commissioners, representative detachments of the Defence Services and merchant navy, and representatives of various religious denominations. • The service, which was conducted by the Bishop of London, Dr. Winnington Ingram, was preceded by the two minutes' silence, during which business and other activities of all kinds all over the country were suspended. The observance of the silence, which is the most impressive feature of the Armistice ceremony, has not weakened by the passage of years. Poppy Day Record Hoped For. The Day of Remembrance for those who fell in the Great War has associated with it a great effort for those who were disabled on the battlefields, and to-day practically everyone wore artificial poppies, the proceeds from the sale of which it is hoped will reach a record exceeding £524,000 collected in 1034. The neighbourhood of the Cenotaph and Westminster Abbey was thronged with crowds from early forenoon, and late this evening, the procession of relatives of those who fell in the Great War bringing wreaths of flowers still moved down Whitehall past the memorial. The King's wreath was laid by the Duke of York and the Queen and the Duchess of York were present on the balcony of the Home Office. Sir James Parr deposited the New Zealand wreath at the Cenotaph. The Prince of Wales attended the ceremony at the Stone of Remembrance at Edinburgh Castle, and afterwards attended a service in St. Giles Cathedral. Typical of the solemn celebration of Remembrance Day in every part of the Empire and by British residents in| foreign countries were the ceremony at the Cross of Sacrifice at Gibraltar, at which the Governor-General, Sir Charles Harrington, supported by detachments from the Army, Navy and Air Force, attended, and the ceremonial observance of the silence before the British Legation at Addis Ababa, where Sikh troops, forming the Legation guard, were drawn up. Many of those who visited the Cenotaph in Whitehall moved on to Westminster Abbey to file past the grave of the Unknown Warrior.