Two British women attend a WWII memorial service in
London yesterday.(Photo:Xinhua/AFP)
Britain marks its national commemoration day Sunday to celebrate
the 60th anniversary of the end of the World War Two, with thousands of people
gathering turned out to say their "Thank you" to those who have served and
fallen in the war.
The commemoration started with the Queen Elizabeth II laying a bouquet of
flowers at a memorial in the forecourt of the Westminster Abbey to all innocent
people who have laid their livesin wars.
The Queen was then joined by Prime Minister Tony Blair, and heads of the
opposition parties as well as hundreds of war veterans for a memorial service at
the Westminster Abbey.
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told the congregation that the
service was a "fitting response" to the terrorists bombings in London on
Thursday which claimed dozens of lives.
Following the service, the Queen attended a veterans' lunch at Buckingham
Palace.
A Parade of Standards took place in the Mall in central London and a
two-minute of silence observed to remember those giving their lives to the
country.
In her address to the nation, the Queen hailed the "unremittinghardship and
sacrifice" made by those who have served for the country during the six years of
the Second World War, adding the national commemoration day is "an act of honor"
shown to the veterans and their families.
Meanwhile, a fly-past of Second World War aircraft Lancaster Bomber dropped
one million poppies over Whitehall to mark the countless lives lost in the war.
The event is part of a weekend of remembrance for fallen Second World War
heroes.
On Saturday the Queen unveiled a memorial in London to commemorate the
sacrifices made by millions of women during the Second World War. One thousand
war veterans attended the commemorations.