Remembrance Day

What is Remembrance Day?

Remembrance Day, also called Armistice Day, falls on 11 November. On that day the Armistice that ended the fighting of the First World War came into effect, at 11 o'clock: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Today the UK remembers all those who died in the two World Wars and later conflicts.

The date is fixed, so the day of the week changes.

In 2026 it falls on Wednesday 11 November.

The two-minute silence

At 11 am, people across the UK stop for a two-minute silence, at work, at school, in shops and at railway stations. Services are held at war memorials, and the silence is often broadcast on television and radio.

Remembrance Day is not a bank holiday. The main national commemoration takes place on Remembrance Sunday, the second Sunday in November, with the ceremony at the Cenotaph in London. When 11 November falls on a Sunday, the two days coincide.

Remembrance around the world

Many other countries also mark 11 November. In Commonwealth countries such as Canada and Australia it is Remembrance Day, in France and Belgium Armistice Day is a public holiday, and in the United States the date is Veterans Day, a federal holiday that honours everyone who has served in the armed forces.