Please join with me in 2 minutes silence today at\u00a011:00am (11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year 2011)\u00a0to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country.<\/p>\n
Remembrance Day<\/strong> (also known as Poppy Day<\/strong> and Armistice Day<\/a><\/strong>) is a memorial<\/a> day observed in Commonwealth<\/a> countries since the end of World War I<\/a> to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognised as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918; hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice<\/a> (“at the 11th hour” refers to the passing<\/em> of the 11th hour, or 11:00\u00a0a.m.)<\/p>\n
The day was specifically dedicated by King George\u00a0V<\/a> on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance of members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. This was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey<\/a> to Wellesley Tudor Pole<\/a>, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.[1]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n
The red remembrance poppy<\/a> has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem “In Flanders Fields<\/a>“. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders<\/a> in World War I, their brilliant red colour an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n