UK commemorates war dead in scaled-down annual ceremony

LONDON

A scaled-down service in central London marked the Remembrance Sunday - an annual commemoration for the UK servicemen who were killed in world wars and conflicts.

Two minutes of silence was observed at 11 a.m. local time before the remembrance service at the Cenotaph war memorial in Whitehall.

The service also marked the centenary of the unveiling of the Cenotaph by King George V on Nov. 11, 1920.

The service was attended by less people this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“No virus will stop us from honouring the memory of the servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives for our freedom,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a Twitter message.

“Today, as every day, we will remember them.”

The Queen, members of the royal family, prime minister and political officials were present to mark the occasion, following strict social distancing measures and wearing masks.

The Queen, wearing a face mask, was seen in public for the first time since the start of the pandemic as she visited yesterday the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey to mark the centenary of his burial.

The Unknown Warrior represents the country’s World War I dead whose place of death is not known or whose remains are unidentified.

Remembrance Sunday commemorations are held each year in Britain on the Sunday closest to Nov. 11, the anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918.