UK Deputy High Commissioner Lays Wreath At Yaba Cemetery To Mark Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty.

Remembrance Day is observed on November 11th in most countries to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month”, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. (“At the 11th hour” refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.).

Wreath laying ceremonies are held around the world to mark the occasion. In Nigeria, Remembrance Day was previously held on November 11th, but it was moved to January 15th in the 1970s to mark the end of the Nigerian Civil War.

Many Nigerian soldiers fought and died in the First and Second World Wars and some of them were buried at military cemeteries in Lagos, Burma, India and other parts of the world. 

The British Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ben Llewellyn-Jones, visited that military section of the Atan Cemetery, Yaba, to lay a wreath. The Commonwealth section of the military section of the cemetery is maintained by the Commonwealth Graves Commission, which is responsible for maintaining cemeteries of Commonwealth and British Empire soldiers who died in the wars.