Silent reflection as Armistice Day marked across region
There was silent reflection across the region as people marked the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
At national monuments, council houses, schools, colleges and housing developments and in towns and cities, people stopped to observe a two-minute silence and remember those who laid down their lives for their country in armed conflict.
Armistice Day saw acts of remembrance take place to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at 11am on November 11, 1918, which marked the end of the First World War.
Hundreds of veterans, serving personnel and members of the public marked Armistice Day at the National Memorial Arboretum.
The arboretum and its centrepiece white Portland stone Armed Forces Memorial, at Alrewas in Staffordshire provided a backdrop for a service of sombre reflection.
The service was followed by hundreds of thousands of junior school children who watched over a live stream as part of the Remembrance Live Assembly project, to teach youngsters about why the nation remembers all those who have died in service.
The ceremony was one of dozens up and down the country marking 104 years since the guns fell silent as the First World War came to a close.
Later, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester put the finishing touches to the planting of an oak tree on the site, which forms part of the Queen’s Canopy, a nationwide project to plant more than a million trees marking the late monarch’s Platinum Jubilee.
At Wolverhampton College, around 70 students, who are studying for qualifications in uniformed public services, held a service at the college's Wellington Road Campus in Bilston.
The students, wearing their college-branded uniforms and remembrance poppies, formed up in the college quadrangle and two standard bearers paraded in the union jack and college flag.
The service included readings in Lithuanian, Punjabi and English, with British Sign Language interpretation, before the assembled company stood to attention for the national two-minute silence at 11am.
The city also marked Armistice Day with a service at the cenotaph in St Peter's Square in the city centre, organised by Wolverhampton British Legion.
Housing developer Barratt Homes produced a unique tribute to fallen heroes by attaching large poppies to lampposts outside developments at Beaconside in Stafford and Deer's Rise in Cannock.
Residents and visitors to the new communities were encouraged to walk past the poppies and think about all those who served in conflicts across the world.
Adrian Evans, managing director at Barratt Homes West Midlands, said: “We have decorated our developments with poppies to honour the occasion as a tribute to all those who lost their lives in conflict.
“During this time of remembrance, we’ve encouraged residents of Staffordshire to take in the poppies onsite when walking by and take a moment of quiet reflection.”
At Beacon Hill Academy in Sedgley, Armistice Day was marked by holding an outdoor assembly for all of its students and staff.
Students in all Year group came together and took part in an assembly led by Mr Dhami, principal at Beacon Hill Academy, which included readings and poems from students as well as a song sang by Francies in Year 11 to pay tribute to those that have lost their lives in public service.
Students held a 2 minute silence and listened to the last post being played to mark the national 2 minute silence.
Mr Dhami said: "Today we come together to remember and pay our respect to those men and women that have given their lives to fight for the freedom of this country."
The Mayor of Sandwell Councillor Richard Jones led a two-minute silence at Oldbury War Memorial to remember members of the armed forces from the borough who fell during war.
The Mayor was joined by Sandwell Council Leader Kerrie Carmichael and members of the Royal British Legion at the event, which saw a march from Sandwell Council House on Freeth Street to the Memorial.
Holly Lodge High School in Smethwick held a Service of Remembrance, with all staff and more than 1,500 students attending the ceremony, which was led by Rev Nick Ross of Holy Trinity Church.
Some local community groups and veterans, as well as those currently in service, attended along with Colonel Cadets Nigel Sarling.and John Wood, Deputy Lord Lieutenant.
At Blakenall in Walsall, there was a two-minute silence and a blessing of the peace tree, which can be found at the junction of Blakenall Heath and Blakenall Lane.
Planted following the official signing of the peace treaty in Versailles with Germany in July 1919, the tree is used as a focal point for remembrance events in the community.
It saw the tree covered in poppies and a dedication by a vicar, followed by the playing of the last post by a bugler.
