Earl And Countess Of Wessex Remember The Fallen At National Memorial Arboretum

The Earl and Countess of Wessex have attended a Service of Remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum (NMA) to mark Armistice Day.

The ceremony was also attended by a small number of representatives from the Armed Forces, Government, Royal British Legion and NMA.

Attendance was limited due to the coronavirus pandemic, but about 200 members of the public gathered at the site in Staffordshire on Wednesday for the two-minute silence.

The Earl and Countess joined the nation in a two-minute silence at 11:00, before laying wreaths at the outdoor Armed Forces Memorial.

The Royal couple then gave readings and viewed the names of those who died while in service on the monument. 

Members of the Band of the Scots Guards and Emily Haig performed during the service.

Although the public were unable to physically attend the ceremony, which was broadcast live online, pre-booked veterans and families were in the arboretum’s grounds to pay their respects.

Karen Hextall, 73, from Leicester, was remembering her late father Bernard Loomes.

He served in the Royal Navy on board a destroyer escorting the Arctic convoys as they delivered vital supplies and munitions to the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

She was wearing a poppy made by her daughter, and caught the eye of the Countess who asked about it after the service.

Ms Hextall, whose grandparents served in the First World War, said her father was always in her thoughts but "especially today".

"I’m sure there’s lots of memories for people’s ancestors," she added.

Richard Shouls, 60, served in 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment between 1976 and 1991.

Pointing up to the main memorial, whose Portland stone walls are inscribed with 16,000 names of the fallen, he said: "There’s guys on the walls from our battalion. Guys I parachuted with.

"So we come on a regular basis just to say hello to them, have a chat to them, toast a beer to them."

The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted landmark anniversaries and Remembrance events throughout the year, including Victory in Europe (VE) Day and Victory over Japan (VJ) Day.

To mark Armistice Day, much of the British public had to observe the traditional two-minute silence at 11:00 from their homes because of the crisis.

Some Remembrance Sunday commemorations were able to go ahead over the weekend, including a ceremony at the Cenotaph in London which was attended by the Queen and closed to the public for the first time. 

A service was also held at the NMA on Sunday, with about 200 socially-distanced, pre-booked guests attending.

Cover image: The Earl and Countess of Wessex attended a scaled-down socially distanced service at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.