Why Britain Falls Silent at Eleven on 11 November — Epoche A2
MEMO To: All staff From: Office Manager Date: 4 November On Monday 11 November this office will stop work for two minutes at eleven o'clock. This note explains what will happen and why the time matters. On the day At 10.58 the phones will be put through to voicemail. At eleven o'clock please stand, if you are able, and stay quiet until two minutes past. Meetings should be arranged around that time. Outside, many shops and stations will be quiet too. Why eleven o'clock The hour is not chosen for convenience. The fighting in the First World War stopped at eleven in the morning on 11 November 1918 — the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. The silence marks the exact minute the guns went quiet, so it is kept at that minute and no other. Poppies Paper poppies are on the desk by the lift. They are sold in the weeks before the day, and the money goes to a charity that helps service families — the families of people who have served in the armed forces. Wearing one is a choice, not a rule. Two minutes is a short time. It is the one part of the day the whole country spends in the same way.