Scotland to remember fallen on Armistice Day

November 11

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Services of commemoration took place across Scotland on Sunday

Scotland will fall silent later to honour those who have died in conflicts around the world on Armistice Day.

The traditional 11 November two-minute period of remembrance takes place at 11:00 on across the country.

The day is commemorated every year to mark the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany in 1918.

Civic and political leaders laid wreaths at war memorials around the UK on Sunday.

Swinney, whose uncle Cpl Tom Hunter was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross after dying in Italy during World War Two in 1945, said: “It is central to our understanding of our freedoms and our democracy today that we understand the sacrifices which were made by previous generation to make sure we could live in the type of society we live in.”

Army veteran Derek “Benny” Bennett, who spent 25 years as a member of the armed forces, said the “scars” service personnel carried from “less talked-about” wars were just as real as those experienced by former soldiers who fought in more prominent conflicts.

Mr Bennett, 72, who served with the parachute regiment in Northern Ireland, was speaking ahead of the traditional Armistice Day ceremonies set to take place across Scotland.

Mr Bennett, originally from Shotton in North Wales, lives in a home run by veterans’ charity Erskine in Edinburgh.

He saw active service in Northern Ireland, served in a peacekeeping mission in Cyprus, and as a liaison officer in the Gulf War.

He recalled one episode at the height of the Troubles when a rocket fired from an RPG missed his vehicle by “six inches” and another when serving with the Paras on the ground in Cyprus in 1974 during the Turkish invasion.

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John Swinney laid a wreath at the Stone of Remembrance in Edinburgh

In 1989 he was deployed to Tel Aviv in Israel, where he served as a liaison officer with the multinational force and observers (MFO) during the first Gulf War, attempting to ensure their safety under bombardment from Scud missiles.

Mr Bennett was paralysed in 2018 after suffering a spinal cord injury, but said he still carried his experiences prior to leaving the armed forces in 1992.

“It’s crucial we remember not just the big wars like the Second World War, the Falklands, Afghanistan, or Iraq, but all the conflicts and peacekeeping missions that don’t always make the headlines,” he said.

“I know people who have suffered, and I personally know that the scars – whether seen or unseen – are just as real for those who served in less talked-about places.

“The impact on those who were there is the same, and their sacrifices deserve the same respect and remembrance.”

Westminster’s SNP leader Stephen Flynn appeared alongside the other leaders of the UK parties and every living former prime minister at London’s Cenotaph commemoration.

King Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales and other senior royals also appeared at the ceremony.

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