With Covid-19 restrictions putting a damper on public gatherings, those wanting to honour the dead have found a new way to mark Armistice Day today.
The annual Armistice Day public event at Queens Gardens has been moved online this year because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Dunedin Returned and Services Association Anzac Day events convener Lieutenant-commander (retired) Rob Tomlinson said it could not hold an official event to mark the day, but there would be a prerecorded stream featuring everything a usual service had available.
It was important to remember those who fought and lost their lives in wars past and the prerecorded service was a way to respect those soldiers under the current restrictions.
A flag is being raised at Queens Gardens at 11am today, without a public service.
The Armistice Day silence is always at 11am because the First World War ended at 11am on November 11 1918.
Desperate to the end to the conflict, German politician Matthias Erzberger met Allied Supreme Commander and Marshall of France, Ferdinand Foch, and British Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss on November 8, 1918. They met in a train carriage in a forest outside Paris and negotiations went on for three days. Finally, at 5am on November 11, the Armistice was signed. Six hours later, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the guns of Europe fell silent.
Every year on November 11, ceremonies around the world remember people who have lost their lives serving in the armed forces. Armistice Day is also known as Remembrance Day and Poppy Day.
