British royals and veterans remember fallen service members

LONDON —  British service members and veterans were joined by royalty Thursday as gardens of remembrance were opened here and in the southern English town of Royal Wootton Bassett.

It came a day before Armistice Day, which commemorates the signing of the armistice between Germany and the Allies that brought World War I to an end on Nov. 11, 1918.

In London, Prince Philip — the husband of Queen Elizabeth II — and Prince Harry, himself a former soldier, took part in prayers at the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey and planted crosses.

Royal Wootton Bassett in the county of Wiltshire gained fame in 2007 after townspeople began lining the streets to pay their respects to fallen British service members as their funeral corteges passed through en route to the John Radcliffe Hospital. Their bodies had been repatriated to RAF Lyneham, a nearby air base.

The town was given the "Royal" prefix by the queen in 2011 in recognition of the townspeople's actions.

The last military funeral cortege passed through it that year and the armed forces now use a different air base, RAF Brize Norton, for aircraft returning from war zones.

People in Britain hold two minutes’ silence at 11 a.m. local time on Nov. 11 to remember service members killed and injured in wars.

Volunteers for the armed forces charity the Royal British Legion plant more than 120,000 tributes in six Fields of Remembrance in the country every year, each bearing messages to people who lost their lives in conflict.

The main ceremonies surrounding the anniversary will take place on Sunday (in the United Kingdom, the observance is on the second Sunday of November). The most important national commemoration is held at the Cenotaph, a memorial near the Houses of Parliament and the prime minister's residence. Members of the royal family, politicians, representatives of the armed services, veterans and members of the public walk to the Cenotaph, where wreaths are laid.