The exterior facade of the Library of Birmingham will be lighting up for this season of Remembrance.

On Friday 11 November the exterior will be lit up red for Armistice Day. On Sunday 13 November the exterior will be lit up red, white and blue for Remembrance Sunday.

Armistice Day is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. But, according to Thomas R. Gowenlock, an intelligence officer with the U.S. First Division, shelling from both sides continued for the rest of the day, ending only at nightfall. The armistice initially expired after a period of 36 days and had to be extended several times. A formal peace agreement was only reached when the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year.

The date was declared a national holiday in many Allied nations. However, many nations have since changed the name from Armistice Day, with member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopting Remembrance Day, and the United States government opting for Veterans Day.

Remembrance Sunday is the Sunday nearest to 11 November - Remembrance Day, which is the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the First World War, in 1918 at 11am. The national ceremony is held at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, London.

The Cenotaph is enclosed in a square formed by detachments from branches of the Fighting Services, a contingent from civilian services vital in time of war and by a large body of ex-service men and women. Wreaths are laid by the Kingand other Royal Family members, the Prime Minister, leaders of major political parties, the Foreign Secretary, the Commonwealth High Commissioners and representatives from the Army, Navy, Royal Air Force, Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets and the Civilian Services.

A two minute silence is held at 11am. This silence is marked by the firing of a field gun on Horse Guards Parade to begin and end the silence, followed by buglers sounding The Last Post.

The Cenotaph was first prepared as a temporary wood and plaster structure for use as a saluting base in Whitehall during the First World War Victory Parade, held on the 19 July 1919. The immediate and overwhelming public acclaim for this hurriedly prepared design of Edwin Lutyens afforded the Government a ready solution to the potential problem of providing a suitable national memorial to the war dead. A swift decision was taken to re-erect the Cenotaph in a permanent form on the same site. The unveiling of the stone structure on the 11 November 1920 was combined with a ceremony to mark the passing of the body of the Unknown Warrior for re-burial in Westminster Abbey.

Information on the Royal British Legion can be found on their website.

Information on the British Army can be found on their website.

Article posted 9 November 2022