London, Nov 09: Queen Elizabeth II today led a somber
ceremony of remembrance for Britain's war dead, including more
than 50 British troops killed this year in Iraq.
The Queen joined
thousands of gathered troops, veterans and civilians in the
traditional two-minute silence, broken by a single artillery
blast and the sound of royal marine buglers sounding the "Last
Post".
The Queen, dressed in black, laid a wreath of red poppies
on the cenotaph memorial in Whitehall, a central London
thoroughfare lined with government buildings.
Prince Philip, Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and other
royals also placed wreaths at the base of the simple portland
stone monument, inscribed with the words "the glorious dead".
To the strains of Beethoven's funeral march, politicians
led by Prime Minister Tony Blair, visiting Australian Prime
Minister John Howard and opposition leader Michael Howard also
laid wreaths. They were followed by representatives of the
commonwealth of former British colonies and the armed forces.
The Bishop of London, the Right Rev. Richard Chartres,
led a short prayer service, attended by Christian, Jewish,
Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh religious leaders.
Later, about 10,000 mostly elderly veterans and war
widows marched past the cenotaph, followed by delegations
from civilian groups vital to the wartime "home front",
including London Transport, the ambulance service and the
post office. At the head of the procession, in an antique
automobile, drove three surviving veterans of World War I.
British troops stationed in Iraq attended a simultaneous
ceremony in the southern city of Basra.
Bureau Report
