Remembrance Day

At 11am on 11 November 1918, after more than 4 years of relentless warfare, the guns on the Western Front finally fell silent. The Allied forces had pushed back the German invaders, delivering significant defeats over the previous 4 months. In November, Germany requested an armistice – a suspension of fighting – to negotiate a peace settlement. They accepted Allied terms that effectively amounted to an unconditional surrender.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month took on special significance in the years following the war. This moment, when hostilities ceased on the Western Front, became a powerful symbol for remembering those who lost their lives. The First World War had mobilised over 70 million people and caused between 9 and 13 million deaths, with perhaps up to one-third of the fallen having no known grave. The Allied nations chose this date and time to honour their war dead.

In Darwin, the Remembrance Day service takes place at the Cenotaph memorial on the Esplanade.