Photo gallery: Remembrance Sunday is commemorated at Norwich’s city memorial
Norwich Remembrance Sunday service and parade at the war memorial outside City Hall. Photo : Steve Adams - Credit: Archant
Some light drizzle did not dampen spirits as hundreds of people attended the service and wreath laying at Norwich's city memorial this morning.
Crowds started gathering outside City Hall just after 10am as veterans, current serving men and women, dignitaries and civilians started assembling for a parade led by the Norwich Citadel band.
Young and old gathered to pay respects to the men of the armed forces who gave their lives in wars and conflicts, in the year which marks 100 years since the outbreak of the First World War.
Dignitaries watched from the balcony at City Hall, as the outdoor service started at 10.35am, led by Reverend Canon Peter Nokes, from St Peter Mancroft Church.
The vicar said that, while it was a time to remember those from the armed forces who had died in conflict, we should also remember the civilians who had also died and the suffering of family and friends left at home.
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He also remembered one of his relatives who had served in the First World War and read out an extract from one of the pages of his notebook, which recorded several men as missing, killed, or shellshocked.
'That one page highlights the almost incomprehensible scale of the suffering,' he said.
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He also reflected on the 900,000 poppies at the Tower of London, which represent the death of combatants in the First World War from the British Empire.
And he added: 'Let's not forget that nearly twice as many German men died in the war. Each one was an individual person with family and friends.
'Today is a day we shine a light on the human courage that has protected us and shine a light on the terrible cost of war.
'It has been said that the human self is most itself when it's not being selfish.'
He then read from St Matthew's gospel about the meek inheriting the earth.
The Lord Lieutenant laid the first wreath on Norwich's war memorial, as part of the service.
And the impeccably observed two-minute silence at 11am was followed by a reveille and blessing, drawing the service to a close.
As the parade marched by those gathered started clapping as it wound its way to Norwich Cathedral for a service.
