By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
LONDON (AA) – A remembrance service in central London marked the centenary of the end of the World War I on Sunday.
The Queen, members of the royal family and representatives of the Commonwealth and various countries were present at the Cenotaph — a war memorial in Whitehall — to pay their respects to millions of soldiers who fell during the war between 1914 and 1918.
Big Ben, the bell inside the clock tower which had been silent since August last year due to renovation work, chimed at 11 o’clock to mark the hour the Armistice was signed.
At first, a wreath was laid at the memorial after a two-minute silence by the Prince of Wales Charles on behalf of the Queen, who observed the ceremony from a balcony.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, former prime ministers and representatives of other political parties also paid their respects by laying wreaths.
“One hundred years after the guns fell silent on the Western Front, each and every one of us can pause to reflect on the immense sacrifices that were made by so many,” May said in a Twitter post.
A wreath has also been laid by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, becoming the first German leader to do so after an invitation from the U.K.
The services simultaneously held in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also remembered the millions of lives lost in the war.
