Britons Remember War Dead With Silence

Britian's Queen Elizabeth II and the Prince Philip lay a wreath during the dedication of the New Zealand Memorial at Hyde Park, London, Saturday Nov. 11, 2006. The Memorial is a dedication to the relationship and shared sacrifice between United Kingdom and New Zealand Servicemen and women. New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark back left and tony Blair back 2nd left.(AP Photo / Carl De Souza) (Carl De Souza - AP)

LONDON -- Britons held somber Armistice Day ceremonies and observed a two-minute silence Saturday in memory of troops killed in conflicts from World War I to Iraq.

A small gathering of relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq held a protest to demand the immediate withdrawal of British troops from the country.

In Trafalgar Square, hundreds of Londoners and tourists paused as Parliament's Big Ben bell chimed 11 times at the start of the traditional Armistice Day silence, commemorating the end of World War I at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.

Later, Queen Elizabeth II, Prime Minister Tony Blair and New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark unveiled a memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London that honored New Zealand's war dead, many killed helping Britain in its battles.

The Armistice Day silence has been observed in Britain since 1919, when King George V proclaimed that "all locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead."

On Sunday, members of the royal family, senior politicians and diplomats from the 54-nation Commonwealth will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph, a monument in central London to honor those killed in the two world wars and subsequent conflicts, including 121 British troops who have died in Iraq.

About 20 relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq gathered at the Cenotaph to protest the war and read aloud the names of Britons killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The families then delivered to Blair's office a letter signed by about 750 soldiers' relatives and veterans calling for British troops to be pulled out of Iraq.