HONORING THE DEAD: UK Consul General Kate Rudd and senior military officials at the Remembrance Sunday wreath- laying ceremony at British Consulate in Jeddah on Sunday. (AN photo by Roger Harrison)

JEDDAH: The British Consulate in Jeddah held the traditional ceremony honoring those who have died or been injured in wars.

A simple ceremony in which a senior officer lowered the flag to half mast was followed by two minutes silence to allow the people to reflect on sacrifices made by soldiers in war in conflicts all round the world.

The ceremony, presided over by British Consul General Kate Rudd, was attended by members of the diplomatic corps in Jeddah and military staff from the UK Embassy in Riyadh. Wreaths of Flanders poppies were formally laid to honor the dead. Nov. 11 is called Armistice Day in Britain and cannon fire from Horseguards Parade in London signals the beginning of the two-minute silence at 11 o’clock.

On either the Sunday immediately before or after Armistice Day — a day known as Remembrance Sunday — there is a ceremony in London at which people remember those who have died or been injured in wars.

Rudd said in her introduction to the ceremony that at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, an armistice was signed which brought World War I to an end. British and Commonwealth soldiers, including thousands of Indian Muslims in the Indian Corps, lost their lives in the two world wars.