good afternoon. i'm simon mccoy on the cenotaph. the headlines at 2pm: the nation falls silent to mark the centenary of the end of the first world war. prince charles laid a wreath at the foot of the cenotaph on behalf of her majesty the queen — followed by senior politicans and members of the armed forces. a series of sand portraits have been created across the uk featuring images of people who lost their lives in the first world war, including the poet wilfred owen who was killed shortly before peace was declared. in paris — world leaders, including president putin and president trump attended a service at the tomb of the unknown soldier — at the arc de triomphe. translation: long live peace

among peoples and states, long live the free nations of the world. long live friendship among peoples. long live france. i'm lukwesa burak — the other stories on bbc news. 25 people are now known to have died in wildfires in northern california — firefighters are still trying to bring them under control. labour frontbencher emily thornberry says all options are on the table — including a fresh referendum — if mp‘s vote down a brexit deal. war vetera ns have ta ken part in a procession past

the cenotaph in london — to mark the hundredth anniversary of the end of the first world war. earlier, the prince of wales and senior politicians laid wreaths at the monument — watched by the queen and other members of the royal family. millions of people across the uk observed a two minutes‘ silence. our royal correspondent, nicholas witchell looks back at that day, 100 years ago, when the guns fell silent. london at 11 o'clock on monday, november 11th, 1918. why can't the ceremony of remembrance has taken place on whitehall in

every piece time year since. on this more than usually significant day of remembrance, with the 100th anniversary of armistice day coincidentally falling on remembrance sunday, the nation ‘s leaders took their places around the cenotaph, led by the prince of wales. as was the case last year, the queen watched from a balcony above. as big ben signalled the start of the national two—minute silence. in memory of all those from britain and the commonwealth who lost their lives in war. in whitehall, after the last post sounded by royal marine buglers, the prince of wales placed the queens reeva poppies against the cenotaph‘s northern face. and then for the first time, a german wreath was laid

at the cenotaph by german's head of state residents die mayor. 100 years after the end of the first world war, in which an estimated 2 million germans lost their lives and historic gesture of conciliation. —— a historic gesture of reconciliation. then it was the turn of the veterans to march past and labour reads in memory of lost colleagues. they were followed this year by the people's march, members of the public he wanted to add their tribute to those of a lost generation who died in a world war which ended 100 years ago today. i'm joined now by dr glyn prysor, from the commonwealth war graves commission. their chief historian. looking at those pictures, the image of a german president at the cenotaph is very striking. absolutely, one of

the most successful parts of this centenary the most successful parts of this ce nte nary of the most successful parts of this centenary of the first world war, in terms of official commemorations, has been the involvement of the germans. probably unthinkable 100 yea rs germans. probably unthinkable 100 years ago, maybe even ten years ago. today i think that moment with the german president taking those few steps towards the cenotaph, laying his reach down and standing in quiet contemplation, harris were standing on the back of my neck. a historic moment. there was something different about today, the feel of it. yes, the crowds are still passing the cenotaph, still milling around. there is still a mood of reflection, coming together to think about not only what happened 100 yea rs about not only what happened 100 years ago but all the conflicts since. i think that 100th anniversary gives this a very unprecedented, specialfeeling. looking at the people's procession behind you, what are the aspects —— one of the aspects of that has been young people. that answers those who ask if we should stop doing this

sort of ceremony when it comes to remembering the first world war. those children perhaps would disagree. yes, remembrance at its best of a combination of emotion and empathy. and understanding. once the emotion has subsided, as we move beyond the living memory of the war is, we will be left with that understanding. if young people have been exposed to new things about this conflict and why it is still so releva nt, this conflict and why it is still so relevant, but is a great legacy. the tragedy 100 years ago was supposed to be the war to end all wars. within 20 years, it was not. will there be a shift of focus now on to that conflict? inevitably, next year will be the anniversary of d—day and the normandy landings. having the vetera ns the normandy landings. having the veterans there perhaps for the final time in many numbers will make that a very special events. as i dig it is important that the second world war does not overshadow the first. -- i think war does not overshadow the first. —— i think it is. this war is in

many ways more relevant to contemporary issues we face in terms of global conflict. to expand on that, we have seen the images from paris this morning of emmanuel macron, angela merkel and she has been tweeting pictures. that is a sense of history and the wanting to avoid it again. i think so, the first world war shapes our world, not only in terms of places around the globe that still suffered conflict today, like the middle east, many of those problems began at that time. many of the ways we think about our selves worshipped at that time, not only the rituals of remembrance but the whole idea of commemorating conflict in this way it really began at that time. what we're seeing today is a new milestone in those, in that long process of commemoration. the band is about to march past as part of the people's parades, itjust

illustrates the interests, the number of people who have come here to london. let's not forget what we saw at the cenotaph was being replicated in cities across the country. people are looking for that shared emotion, shared connection, doing something communal. that's something we have lost from 100 yea rs something we have lost from 100 years ago. when reflecting on the day this memorial was unveiled, when the many tens of thousands of people attended. it's really good that we can take that historic moment and replicate it for our own times. this is really the start of commemorations today because things are happening around the country throughout the day and into the evening. yes, this evening a special ceremony at westminster abbey. i think that will be a very poignant moments. a perfect way to round off a day of events across the country, across the world. you are staying with us through the afternoon but like you very much for that. we arejoined now, how

we are joined now, how are you feeling? what is going through your mind? it has been absolutely great the last couple of hours. it's the first time i have done this. it is a real eye—opener. first time i have done this. it is a real eye-opener. and eye-opener but in what way from your perspective because we're looking now at members of the public walking down whitehall, spending a bit of time by the cenotaph, how important for you is it that the message is understood? it is massively important. it is history that needs to be carried on. my great—grandfather fought in the worst world war, so we must keep remembering it. that's why it matters massively. why is it so

important for you to participate today? it sounds like a daft question but so many veterans like yourself are here. why is that so important? we must keep reminding people that we need the help, like out for heroes and stuff like that, that people are still needing help all the time. —— help for heroes. we remember the past but the injured are still happening, seven people per week are needing help from help for heroes. like myself, i got picked up in 2017 and it took five yea rs picked up in 2017 and it took five years to get picked up. but it's going to take years until everyone else is. you suffered from ptsd and you have a rather strange association in that you left the forces once only to return later. and it was then that you really saw

first—hand the horror of war. and it was then that you really saw first-hand the horror of war. yes, i went through northern ireland in 1987 as a regular and then again in the first gulf war. the desert rats. i decided to go back in into —— 2006 asa i decided to go back in into —— 2006 as a reservist. that's when i got called up to go to afghanistan in 2008. it was a complete different war to me. with my age as well, at the age of 40, as a reserve list, the age of 40, as a reserve list, the tour was fine, it when i left, trying to adjust into civilian life, that's when i found it hard. it took me about five years to adjust back into it. but i wasn't getting any better, so in 20131 had a total meltdown. i started looking for help. it wasn't forthcoming at first. it's a couple of years until i eventually got picked up by help

for heroes. that's why i feel like it has to be highlighted and continued. help for heroes you have mentioned, the royal british legion, the many groups there are for you. the issue of mental health in the armed forces, do you believe that is 110w armed forces, do you believe that is now getting the priority it should? it isa now getting the priority it should? it is a lot better than it was, and is they are trying to catch up. hopefully, people like myself doing things like this might highlight the issue, even at my age, people are struggling. they must come forward and seek help. it's very good of you tojoin us on and seek help. it's very good of you to join us on this and seek help. it's very good of you tojoin us on this important and seek help. it's very good of you to join us on this important day. and seek help. it's very good of you tojoin us on this important day. i know for you and all veterans who have turned up to the cenotaph. thank you very much. robert duncan. in a unique memorial to those who lost their lives, portraits of servicemen and women have been etched into the sand on beaches around the uk. our correspondent, duncan kennedy,

reports from folkestone in kent — which has paid tribute to one of the first world war‘s most enduring figures. the piercing eyes of a celebrated war poet, today etched onto the very beach he had once left to meet war and death. for wilfred owen, what had been a shoreline of embarkation this morning became a canvas of commemoration. the project had been organised by the film director danny boyle, who says the face is a metaphorfor tragedy. it's wonderful that there are permanent structures that will outlive us and outlast us, but i thought it was a good way to reflect on our own...time here. you know, it's just temporary, really. as the tide ebbed away, 30 artists crafted contours of the face. hundreds of people lined the shore to take in the imagery and the symbolism. it feels very much like he's here and he's alive and he is, as you say, representing so many people, really special.

really special. 32 faces have been created on beaches around britain. in blackpool, lance corporaljohn arkwright who fell in 1914. at murlough in county down, john mccance, who died at passchendaele. just like private ellis evans, here at colwyn bay. by mid—morning, the inpatient tide returned to roll in over the faces, like tears of the lost generation. the images floating in nature, but enduring in our memories. let's speak to the artist marc rees now — who can tell us more about the commemorative beach engraving in swansea. just describe it to us. it is

actually not my engraving but i am here just as actually not my engraving but i am herejust as a actually not my engraving but i am here just as a bystander, watching. i have done a project myself. currently there are young women creating a portrait of a woman called dorothy watson, who was killed in an explosion in a musician ‘s factory around the corner. it is very appropriate that isn't drawing of her. —— an explosion in a munitions factory. it is beautiful and poignant is that the volunteers 01’ women and poignant is that the volunteers or women themselves and are also 19 yea rs of or women themselves and are also 19 years of age, so it is a wonderful and powerful thing to witness. there are people around watching this honour and i think it's going to ta ke honour and i think it's going to take some time but the idea is that at the end of the day, the tide will wash it away. it is very important to remember the women that were involved also in world war i. to remember the women that were involved also in world war ii think low tide there was some five minutes ago, so there are a few

hours before the tide will wash it away. just describe the process and how many people have been involved, and what it looks like to you. how many people have been involved, and what it looks like to youm sounds very simple, the idea, to create a sand portrait, but it's very, located. it is very large in area. there are a lot of people involved to create such a thing. and also, there are lots of people around the site creating small portraits, silhouettes of soldiers. i think there is a sense of a collective sharing and a reflective kind of moments. it's rolling important that we do gather here and remember and to do it through contemporary arts. —— really important. swansea often gets neglected so it is important to put ourselves on the cultural map. good of you tojoin ourselves on the cultural map. good of you to join us. anyone who wants to see that, it will be there for a few more hours. iq. -- thank

to see that, it will be there for a few more hours. iq. —— thank you. in paris, world leaders gathered at the arc de triomphe. the french president emmanuel macron urged them to build hope rather than playing on fear. he said the first world war — which claimed 20 million lives — had been a massacre — the scars of which were still visible on the face of the world. from paris, mark lowen reports. the bells marked the end of the horror a century ago. chimes replacing guns as peace began. in quiet procession, leaders of states that tore each other apart back then, now coming together. over 70 led by emmanuel macron up the champs—elysees to the arc de triomphe. making an entrance, donald trump. not the centre of attention today but fashionably late. the man who has shaken traditional alliances. and then the last, vladimir putin. a century since russia and america fought with the allies, their relations with western europe are now under strain. the two populist leaders rather cosier together. president macron hails from france's

battle—scarred north. his british great—grandfather was decorated at the somme. and he's warned the post—war liberal democracy he champions is under threat by echoes of the past. translation: patriotism is the opposite of nationalism. nationalism is treason. if we think our interests may only come first and we don't care for others, it's a treason of our values, a betrayal of all moral values. we must remember this. a poignant interlude by yo—yo ma, born in paris, playing at the tomb of the unknown soldier. this country at the centre of the world war was today the heart of world diplomacy. from president macron, memories of the brutality but also a call to protect the multilateral order that came from it. he's increasingly now, though,

a minority against nationalist, authoritarian leaders. belgium, too, was consumed by war, and there today tributes to the battles scarred into europe's consciousness. a homage to those killed in the trenches and a nod to the troops from the colonies that backed up allied forces, dying in a war that wasn't theirs. in paris, damp skies and a reflective mood as the eternal flame was lit. the bloodshed may be a distant memory for this country but its president is fighting new battles today. a once war—torn continent is now a fractured one. our correspondent robert hall is at the menin gate in ypres. they play the last post there every

night. today is very different. very special. it is special. you have been out here eight o'clock every night, under the menin gate, straddling the arch which goes over the roads which led to the trenches during the first world war. the ypres fire brigade have sounded that salutes since the 1920s with a brief breakfor the salutes since the 1920s with a brief break for the second world war. it was the city's way of saying thank you to british people, soldiers who had stood side by side with belgian forces and helps to protect and hold ypres pretty well through the first world war. it was a very bloody battlefield. we knew that, a lot of people have died and that is evident from the names on the gates. 85,000 officers and men from britain and the commonwealth. some soldiers who travelled from the other side of the world to be here. i want to show you a bit of the ceremony this morning, for those who weren't here. it is an astonishing and emotional occasion,

even when there are hundreds of people, as there were today. sounding the last post, all around them veterans from belgium, britain. families, individuals, people who had come by bus, by car. some even taken in ypres as part of a walking holiday. all of them here to stand just for 15 to 20 minutes, to listen to the bugles and remember the names and the people on the gates. a lot of them also remembering people in —— individuals, family members that they knew, that didn't come home. for then there are faces attached to the individuals who were last here. a lot of unknown graves, the numbers, the 50,030 people whose remains were never identified. such was the ferocity of the battle, and the way the ground was churned up. after the last post, in a couple of moments, the poppy petals fluttering

down from the top of the arch. for me that is the most significant moment, the poppy such a potent symbol of what took place. the poppies that grew in flanders fields despite the destruction, despite the farmland being torn up. the poppies that have come to symbolise remembrance. the poppies that are on the dozens of reeds that were made under the gates. from the gate we have climbed up to the steps that lead up to the memorial garden. the numbers of casualties become apparent as we make our way through here. you can see that ypres has laid out a garden of remembrance on the ramparts. the ramparts provided some protection to troops. there are couple of people here who have been patiently waiting for us. let me get you names. i'm richard. and michelle. you are from cornwall fire and rescue. there is a real brotherhood between ypres firemen

who sounded the call and fire brigades from around britain and europe. yes, the last post association is based around the local fire service. british fire services have been attending for many years. we have been invited guests for the last 35 to 40 years. more recently our fire cadet unit has been invited along. culminating today in the centenary commemorations. you have not been as many times, just two or three. i have been many times myself. it doesn't. .. lots of have been many times myself. it doesn't... lots of people here can be distracting. reed the motion of the events can be overwhelming. as you were coming behind the drums and pipes, the feeling you get and... it'sjust overwhelming. it is

sadness and it is being part of all that we've done here today. it is the remembering of so many souls. your relations came home. they both came home, yes. do you think the link gets weaker as the first world war moves into history?” link gets weaker as the first world war moves into history? i don't think so. i think it is part of what we should all be doing, is educating out we should all be doing, is educating our children. and making sure they know what happened before and why they are where they are. and that they are where they are. and that they have these freedoms of speech, they have these freedoms of speech, they can use facebook and social media and whatever. it should be as strong. it is still relevant. richards, you have been here a few times. had you seen a change in the way, the numbers of the attendance, the interest by tremarco yes, certainly. this year we are commemorating the 100 years. there

are a lot more people here than in previous years. since 2014, it has been more people being interested. i think it's something for every child in every school in great britain to come and look at the menin gate and the names on the menin gate, of those soldiers that were lost. what goes through your mind? as michelle said, the enormity, to a certain extent the futility and the waste of the lives lost. but we are here on as free citizens of the western world and long may that continue. we should embrace the human being. we are all out of one gene on whatever in the dim distant past. we all share about commonality. we should member that. to using social media has something to do with the way

people like you were coming over and over again and following? people looking for names? he speaks better thanl looking for names? he speaks better than i do! know, i think people are finding it more relevant because it is in the news. they are able to research their family history. they can say, my great uncle or might —— on my mother's site was here and then they want to visit. a colleague of ours was here last week visiting his great uncle's grave. he went there on the day that he died. that was very poignant for them as a family. he was able to take photographs back for his relatives. i think it has a relevance. thank you both very much. i'm just going to read you with a shot of this garden of reference. talking about numbers, nothing says it more strongly than this. robert hall

there in ypres. where they have also been remembering the 9.7 million military deaths and 10 million civilian deaths claimed during those four years between 1914 and as 19 80 -- 1918. four years between 1914 and as 19 80 —— 1918. one of the features robert was talking about there, with other names on the menin gate, if you look up names on the menin gate, if you look up and around, thousands of names of those whose bodies were never brought back to britain. but names that are now studied by a new generation looking into their grandparents and their great uncles and great aunts. with a renewed interest. if you tour the battlefields of song, uc coachloads of young people. to anybody perhaps you asks whether this 100th anniversary should mark the beginning of the end of remembering the first world war, there are still many people who are interested and remembering the rules of their loved ones 100 years on. which would

suggest that days like today will continue for many years yet. whilst the focus today is on the first world war, there are other conflicts being remembered here as well. plenty more from the cenotaph through the afternoon. let's get a weather update. it has been one of those weekend where the weather has been changing oui’ where the weather has been changing our by hour. those of us have seen several downpours through the weekend, interspersed by sunny weather. overnight, south—westerly winds continuing to blow. that will feed in showers across western and southern parts of the uk, with showers becoming more likely in northern ireland. temperatures, with onshore winds, never getting that cold in the south, eight to 10 degrees. further north, five in newcastle, six in a row. calder in the countryside with temperatures in the countryside with temperatures in the low single figures. into monday, with low pressure to the west, we maintain those south—westerly winds. further showers across western and

southern areas, all of them heavy and thundery. interspersed by some spells of sunshine. in the sunshine, miles temperatures across the board. most of us between 12 and 14 degrees. that is your latest weather. goodbye for now. hello this is bbc news. the headlines: the nation falls silent to mark the centenary of the end of the first world war. prince charles laid a wreath at the foot of the cenotaph on behalf of her majesty the queen — followed by senior politicans and for the first time, the german president. 25 people are now known to have died in wildfires in northern california. firefighters are still trying to bring them under control.