Violet
8/11/21
Remembrance Day
On the 11th November it is Remembrance Day. The first ever Remembrance Day was called Armistice Day and it was held the year after the First World War ended on 11th November 1918. Remembrance Day is an incredibly important day where we remember those who fought to protect us and keep us safe, not only in World War One but all the wars that have happened since, including the Second World War.
Remembrance Day - War Memorials
There are war memorials all across the country. You will have war memorials in the cities, towns and villages near to where you live.
In London there are many memorials to the brave soldiers who have kept us safe over the years. I went to London to look at the ones I could find this week. Some already had some poppies laid down next to them.
The Cenotaph
Probably the most important war memorial in London is the Cenotaph. The word cenotaph means ’empty tomb’. The Cenotaph was built in 1920 to remember those who had died in the First World War. It had been a terrible war that lasted four years between 1914 and 1918.
Unfortunately, not that long after the Second World War was fought between 1939 and 1945. The Cenotaph came to represent the both wars and all the wars fought since and is the focus of Remembrance Sunday where members of the Royal Family and Parliament lay poppy wreaths to remember those who bravely fought in those wars for us.
Monument to the Women of World War Two Memorial
On the same road as the Cenotaph is a really recent memorial, that was only built in 2005. It is a memorial dedicated to all the women who helped during the war, either in uniform or at home helping the country keep going during a really difficult time when many men were away fighting in the war. Women during the war had many roles, thousands had roles such as mechanics, engineers, fire engine drivers and nurses. Many also worked behind enemy lines in very dangerous situations.
The Battle of Britain Monument
The Battle of Britain Monument is just across the River Thames from the London Eye. It is remembering a really important battle during the Second World War between July and October 1940. The Nazis had conquered almost all of Western Europe and Britain was the next country they were going to try and invade. First they needed to control the sky above London and Southern Britain so a battle took place in the air between them and the British Air Force. Amazingly the British won the battle and meant that the Nazi’s had to delay the invasion, in fact they never were able to invade our country and eventually were completely defeated when the war ended a long 5 years later.
The Royal Air Force Memorial
The Royal Air Force Memorial is also on the River Thames, just along from the Battle of Britain Monument. I had to go on a boat ride down the River Thames to see it properly as it is facing the river. It was built in 1923 to remember the Royal Airforce members who died in the First World War and since has become a memorial for all the wars the Air Force has participated in since. The golden eagle on top of the memorial represents the eagle on the Royal Airforce Badge.
The Bomber Command Memorial
The Bomber Command Memorial is on the edge of Green Park. It was unveiled by the Queen in 2012 so it was the most recent memorial I saw on my day in London. It was built in memory of the over 50 000 bomber command crew from allied countries (the countries fighting against the Nazi’s) who lost their lives fighting in World War Two and civilians who died in bombings too.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots and Public Domain Images.
Other images on the site may be Shutterstock or Creative Commons Images, which are credited appropriately.