Hundreds gather in Hartlepool to mark Armistice Day

Local school children and members of the public at the Armistice Parade, in Victory Square, Hartlepool.

British Legion veterans lead the service at the cenotaph at Victory Square on Victoria Road, which saw them march into the square and carry out the silence at 11am.

Armistice Day, held on November 11 every year, commemorates the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Germany at 11am on 11 November 1918 - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Veteran Tug Wilson who helped orgainse the Armistice Day Parade in Victory Square, Hartlepool.

The silence was observed by hundreds of school children from Brougham Primary School on Brougham Terrace in Hartlepool, as well as council representatives and members of the public.

The event was organised by Falklands veteran Tug Wilson, from the Hartlepool Combined Ex-Servicemen’s Association.

He said the service was getting larger each year with many people turning out to show their support and respect.

He said: “Every year the children come to the service and give their support. “They understand what it is all about and it is lovely that they make wreaths to lay on the cenotaph every year.

Local school children placing their wreaths at the Cenotaph at the Armistice Parade in Victory Square, Hartlepool.

“The event is getting bigger each year and we feel it is important to hold one on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day as it is the actual date, as well as the official service on Remembrance Sunday.

“There are around 15 veterans who have come down to mark the day as well as those who just turn up.

“I think it is important to remember.”

Julie Thomas, head teacher of Brougham Primary School, agreed and said the whole school comes along each year to mark the important occasion.

Standard bearers at the Armistice Parade in Victory Square, Hartlepool.

She said: “We come along every year and the children make wreaths which they take along with them on the day. “About seven years ago we found a plaque at the school recognising the efforts of a former teacher at the school called Joseph Jobling, who was an acting bombardier in the Third Battle of Ypres known at the Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War.

“We had the plaque restored and it is on display at the school along with one of the poppies from the Tower of London.”

In the run up to Armistice Day, pupils at Lynnfield Primary School also paid their respects by visiting the cenotaph where they wrote a letter and put down a wreath.