Veterans mark Armistice Day at the National Memorial Arboretum

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hundreds of veterans, serving personnel and members of the public marked Armistice Day at the National Memorial Arboretum. The arboretum and its centrepiece white Portland stone Armed Forces Memorial, at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, provided a backdrop for a service of sombre reflection. As the final notes of The Last Post drifted away over the memorial – inscribed with more than 16,000 names of service personnel killed on active duty since the end of the Second World War, the only noise that could be heard above the silence was the wind in the trees. But as a volunteer at the memorial arboretum, the 80-year-old said: “For me it’s also important we continue to have remembrance on a day-to-day basis, so it’s nice for me to see the children coming to this site, as part of school visits.” Mr Cross, of Rugeley, Staffordshire, who designed and oversaw building of the arboretum site’s Gurkha Memorial, said: “It’s humbling to come here, and to see people grieving, paying their respects and marking these moments.”