Armistice Day: As it happened

1. 11 November 2014
2. Ceremonies around Britain and abroad commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War One
3. The traditional two-minute silence at 11:00 GMT marked the time when hostilities ended in 1918
4. Veterans gathered at the Tower of London where 800,000 ceramic poppies have been placed
5. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One and 70 years since the D-Day landings

AFP/getty images

That concludes our live coverage of Armistice Day, which has united the UK in honouring those fallen in conflict. Thank you for joining us and for sharing your comments, pictures and memories.

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Marian: How about spraying the Tower Moat with real poppy seeds before the ceramic poppies are removed. The disturbance to the ground when removing the ceramic poppies will help the real flowers to grow just as in the Flanders Fields. Hopefully this could give us a display for the next four years and more.

The Met Office have published an article online documenting the important role they played during World War One. It says:

By the end of the war forecasters and observers were to be found working in support of the army on every front. Met Office staff worked on the front line predicting changes in the wind that might indicate the risk of the enemy launching gas attacks. Both sides used gas as a weapon during the war and the forecasters also advised on when conditions were right for the allies to launch gas attacks. It was a highly dangerous role.

The role of the Met Office and the importance of weather information and advice to military operations were considered so critical by the end of the war that the Met Office became part of the Air Ministry which ran the Royal Air Force.

Harry Leslie Smith, RAF veteran

tweets: I remember the grief from the Great War when my family and my community went to the cenotaph in 1928 to remember our dead #ArmisticeDay

AP

The poppy field at the Tower of London is a reminder of the powerful role art can play in remembrance, as BBC iWonder shows with its interactive guide.

Artistic poppies, Guernsey

David Gilliver

David Gilliver uses a technique, which involves very long exposure times taken at night, to photograph the poppies next to the WWI memorial in Guernsey, the Channel Islands.

Getty Images

Poppies fall as brokers, underwriters and dignitaries observe the silence at the Lloyd's of London building.

Getty Images

70 years ago, the D-Day landings marked the beginning of the end for the Nazi occupation across large parts of Europe. BBC iWonder has produced a timeline of the historic event, as well a guide outlining just how close it came to failure.

British Embassy, Iraq

MOD

tweets: British Defence Attaché lays wreath at Baghdad's neglected Commonwealth cemetery #Remembrance #NotForgotten

Reuters

Soldiers stand among fallen tissue paper poppies during a service at the Lloyd's Building in the City of London.

Getty Images

Getty Images

In Edinburgh, veterans and members of the public paid tribute.

Armistice Day in Australia

Susan Pettigrew

Susan Pettigrew took this photo in Armadale, Western Australia.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, 70 years since the D-Day landings and the end of Britain's conflict in Afghanistan.

Armistice Day has been marked on 11 November every year since 1919 - a year after the Allied forces signed an agreement with the Germans that would end WW1.

After the Second World War, commemorations were adapted to honour the fallen of both conflicts, and Remembrance Sunday was established to replace Armistice Day.

From 1995, the British Legion campaigned successfully to restore the two-minute silence to 11 November as well as Remembrance Sunday.

Elsewhere:

• French President Francois Hollande laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris
• A memorial service was held in the Afghan capital Kabul for British servicemen killed there
• In the Belgian town of Ypres there was a special sounding of the Last Post to mark the 100th anniversary of the start of WW1

Here's a reminder of the morning's events:

• Ceremonies have taken place around the UK and further afield to mark the anniversary of the World War One armistice
• In London, a 13-year-old army cadet planted the final symbolic ceramic poppy in the art installation at the Tower of London
• Services were held in military bases, churches and schools, and a two-minute silence was observed at 11:00 GMT
• In London, remembrance ceremonies took place at Westminster Abbey, the Cenotaph and Trafalgar Square

Tom Piper, designer of the poppy installation at the Tower of London, told the BBC he thought the sale of the poppies had raised "at least £1m for each of the six charities".

"I'm very thrilled and honoured that it's had such an impact. I don't think we imagined that it could have [raised this amount] when we set out to do it," he said.

Anthony Bagga, Henley College Coventry

Anthony Bagga

Anthony Bagga, of Henley College, Coventry took this photo. He said: "Henley College Coventry's Uniformed Services students led our Remembrance Day service this morning in the atrium. Students, staff and nursery children all observed the 2 minute silence. The wreaths laid were made by Uniformed Services students and our nursery children."

How were the traditions of remembrance established? And how have they changed over the years? BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth has put together a timeline looking at 100 years of remembrance.

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Richard Storrie: My wife and I visited the hulk of the Bodrog, the ship from which the first shots of the First World War were fired by the Austro-Hungarian river fleet into Belgrade, at 11am local time and observed two minutes silence. The Bodrog is tied up alongside the southern shore of the Danube in Belgrade, quietly rotting away.

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Eleanor Thompson: At Oriel College, Oxford, we have held a service beside our war memorial to remember not only the thousands of war dead but especially those undergraduates of the college who served and never returned. Incredibly moving that so many students, staff and tutors came to pay their respects. My great grandfather fought at Gallipoli and on the Western Front, and my great-great uncle was killed exactly a month before the end of the war. I am proud to remember them.

PA

Actress Barbara Windsor was at the ceremony for the "planting" of the final ceramic poppy at the Tower of London.

Nuala McCann has written a piece for BBC Northern Ireland based on a Royal Ulster Rifles soldier's memories of Borneo in the 1960s.

PA

PA

Confetti was released into the air in Liverpool City Centre following the silence.

PA

UK servicemen and women at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, paused to pay their respects.

BBC

Speaking to the BBC, Paul Cummins, the artist behind the poppy field at the Tower of London, said "the crowd and the people" had left him feeling "slightly emotional".

Asked what he might do to mark the centenary of the end of the war in 2018, he said: "I think I'll sleep first."

BBC

Armistice Soldiers gathered at Kendrew Barracks in Rutland to remember their fallen comrades.

BBC

Bluewater shopping centre in Kent fell silent with members of the Greenhithe and Swanscombe Royal British Legion. Two local schools stood beside ex-servicemen as the Last Post was played.

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Viv Baker: I am a first generation Canadian, whose ancestors hail from Plymouth and Walthamstow. In fact the wharf that ferries people from Plymouth in Devon to Cornwall is named Shepherds Wharf... after my great-Grandfather. Today I will be remembering my Grandfather Sergeant Edward Edwin Shepherd who was born in Plymouth. He enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1914. He made it through the war, but on September 30th, 1918 he and the 40 troops under his command were snipered while making their way through Cambrai, France... all lives were lost. Today, I am honoured to attend a special exhibit at the Markham Museum near Toronto, which is dedicated to the memory of my Grandfather and two other soldiers who gave their lives in the service of their country.

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Eddie Clarke, Deanshanger: I have just observed the two minute silence alone and thoughtful... My father fought in the first world war and he died in 1953 when I was 2 years old... It is not until recently I learned of this as my mother never spoke about him. But on reflection we must remember all those who served (most of whom are dead now) not just remember those who died at the time. Many more went on suffering for a long time (both physically and mentally)... We owe them all a great debt...

BBC

A trumpeter played the Last Post to mark the end of the silence.

PA

Passengers observed the at York Station.

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Robin Gibbons: I paused for those minutes after 11. It is a poignant time as both my Grandfathers fought in the WWI, one I knew, my maternal Grandfather who was also wounded at the Somme before returning to active duty as a Royal Sir Corps member mapping above the trenches. I have his flying pennant, compass and binocular as a well as a German helmet he gave me as a small boy. I can just trace the name of the German soldier who owned the helmet, still visible in that thick lead pencil, 'Rosenberg' and a number that I have yet to decipher. I would like to trace him too, obviously a young man who presumably was killed in battle. The next four years will be a very moving time.

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@kellan tweets: A day to remember that nearly a 100 years ago it was decided that war had become too horrific to continue to happen #ArmisticeDay

BBC

The Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey.

BBC

RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.

PA

Another striking image from Spean Bridge in the Highlands of Scotland.

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Lorraine Ogilby: I work in a Belfast Hospital. Observed the silence by walking out to a corridor on my own and stood quietly looking out a window. No mention of this in work and did not see anyone else observing. I felt very emotional that people just do not seem to mark this as they should. I had two great uncles killed in the war and my grandmother never forgot them.

Alison Seabeck, shadow defence minister

tweets: V moving service in Westminster Abbey to remember centenary of #WWI . Poignancy of echoes of last post played v powerful #LestWeForget

Ed Miliband, Labour leader

tweets: At 11am we remember all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of our country #WeWillRememberThem #TwoMinuteSilence

Nick Clegg, Lib Dem leader

tweets: Moving and poignant. Honoured to be part of remembering our fallen servicemen and women at the #TowerPoppies

BBC

Campbell College in Belfast.

Prime Minister David Cameron

tweets: It was profoundly moving to stand with so many at the Cenotaph today - remembering those who sacrificed so much so we that could be free.

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Caroline Hopkins: All we did at our office was to honour the 2 minute silence. It was really lovely that all the telephones fell silent also, builders stopped working outside, everyone was remembering in their own way. Poignant in itself, in a busy studio where we receive a lot of calls. It is great to know that everyone stopped, nothing was too important to not honour this moment.

BBC

The Cenotaph in Whitehall, central London.

BBC

Infantry Battle School in Brecon.

David Cheskin

A service is held at the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge in the Highland area of Scotland.

BBC

Trafalgar Square in central London.

AP

People bow their heads during a minute of silence at a memorial service in Sydney, Australia

BBC

Field of Remembrance in Edinburgh.

Mike Egerton

England footballers also observed the silence during a training session at St George's Park in Burton Upon Trent.

BBC

The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Getty Images

King Philippe of Belgium stands during the commemoration of World War One.

David Rogers

The England rugby team observed the silence at Pennyhill Park.

BBC

Wolsingham School in County Durham.

Nigel Watson, Belgium

Nigel Watson

Nigel Watson took this photo and wrote this poem:

Fields of gold blooms of red

They all grow there to mark the dead

They lived they came they fought they died

Each of them on all sides

Birds now sing their songs today

I hope they never fly away

I will remember them So should you

All who died in wars one and two.

BBC

Dignitaries - along with huge crowds - fell silent at the Tower of London.

Stay with us as we bring you images from around the UK during the silence.

Frank Gardner

BBC security correspondent

11 o'clock silence to mark #ArmisticeDay London cabbies standing heads bowed outside their taxis. Impressive.

BBC

The scene inside Westminster Abbey.

Spontaneous applause breaks out at the Tower of London as the two-minute silence end.

Ministry of Defence

MOD

tweets: At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

BBC

Big Ben, the Great Bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, chimes as the silence begins.

Thousands have gathered at the Tower of London to observe a two-minute silence that will begin at 11:00 across the UK.

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Linda: Why are we all in work? It should be a National Holiday to make sure that this day will always be remembered.

BBC

The scene at the Tower of London where dignitaries are gathering for the two-minute silence.

BBC

Tina Coppin from Norfolk made her own version of the Tower poppies.

This year is also the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings, which marked the beginning of the Allies forces' invasion of Nazi-occupied western Europe. As many as 4,000 Allied troops and 9,000 German died in one day. Commemorations for the event were held in June.

BBC

French President Francois Hollande laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and inaugurated a new memorial paying respect to the dead of World War One.

In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, an armistice was declared that finally ended a war that had claimed the lives of over 800,000 soldiers from the UK and Commonwealth. The BBC's timeline offers an insight into the history of how we remember this day.

EPA

The ceramic poppy field surrounding the Tower of London has captured the public's imagination, drawing almost 4 million people to pay their respects. There are over 800,000 poppies, one for each fallen soldier from the UK and Commonwealth.

Tom Williams, at the Tower of London

Tom Williams

Tom Williams took this photo at the Tower of London. The poppies are reflected in the murky water.

EPA

The Royal Family stood alongside politicians, soldiers and veterans to mark Remembrance Sunday. The BBC's picture gallery covered commemorations from around the world.

Lord Dannatt, former Chief of the General Staff, tells the BBC News Channel: "On Armistice Day one thinks about the people one served with and one lost. I think it's right we do reflect on the meaning of service and sacrifice."

A memorial service has taken place in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Yesterday, Prince Harry made a surprise visit to Kandahar, Afghanistan, leading tributes to more than 450 UK soldiers who have died there since 2001.

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BBC News website reader: My friend and I are going to ride our horses to the local war memorial and observe the silence on horseback in memory of not just the human cost of war but the animals who lost their lives too.

BBC

Belgian dignitaries laid wreaths at the Menin Gate.

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Susan London: I will keep a 2 minutes silence. For me it's respect, for those that paid, the ultimate price, so we could enjoy, our freedom.

BBC

A period of silence has already been observed outside Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, where the names of around 55,000 UK and Commonwealth soldiers with no known graves are engraved.

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Brian Laine: As a wearer of a white poppy I will spend the 2 minutes reflecting on the damage war does to all, the needless violence, and the futility of war in many cases and where the poor play out the politicians' games. We should be striving for a more peaceful world and to resolve conflict without violence.

Welcome to the BBC's coverage of Armistice Day. Here you will find live updates on key events and commemorations in the UK and across Europe.