Armistice Day

[ladyofastolat]

As far as I remember, Armistice Day itself wasn't commemorated when I was young, with everything happening on Remembrance Sunday instead. I can't remember any two minutes' silences ever happening on a weekday at school. My memory puts the widespread marking of Armistice Day as distinct from Remembrance Sunday as a thing that has only started (or restarted) in the last ten to fifteen years. No-one at work agrees with me - though they don't actively disagree, either, just say they can't remember. Am I misrembering things? The only evidence I've found on a quick online search is that the two minute silence on Armistice Day was stopped during World War 2, so as not to interfere with wartime producation, and moved to Remembrance Sunday, but clearly this isn't relevant to my memories of the 70s and 80s.

Comments

[phoebesmum.livejournal.com]

I tend to think that Remembrance Sunday is for politicians and the Queen, and Armistice Day is for saying thank-you to your granddad. I doubt that's the official distinction, however.

[ladyofastolat.livejournal.com]

It probably varies from place to place. It the small town I was brought up in, the Sunday service was - and still is, according to my mum - a real community thing. It's outdoors, non-denominational and very well attended, whereas a two minutes' silence during a normal work day can often end up pretty meaningless. We did observe it in the office, but the instant 11.02 came round, the phone was ringing again. When I worked in a public library, most of the time was spent not in quiet reflectiong, but silently miming to customers walking through the doors that they should be quiet.