Tomorrow is Remembrance Day, a time when Bermuda stops to honour the memory of its sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and world peace, during the First and Second World Wars, and more recently other conflicts.

Many of those who answered the call to arms in 1914 and 1939 were young and in the prime of their lives, seemingly with long futures ahead of them to develop and enrich.

Single or married, these brave souls left behind loved ones, including babies and children, and headed off to face an unfamiliar world at war, with all its attendant horror and suffering.

Yet the men and women went willingly, with optimism and a belief that, whatever their roles, no matter how small or dangerous, their valour would make a difference.

Peace was one goal, and returning to all that they cherished and loved, was another.

Unfortunately, not everyone lived to see the day when Bermuda welcomed home its brave veterans with joy and thanksgiving, and it is those whose memory and ideals we gather to honour annually on Remembrance Day at the Cenotaph on Front Street.

Heading the list of attending dignitaries is the Governor, who is the Queen's representative in Bermuda.

He is joined by the Premier and Leader of the Opposition; the Commanding Officer of the Bermuda Regiment; the Commissioner of Police, the Chief of the Bermuda Fire Service; the Bishop of Bermuda and the Roman Catholic Bishop; representatives of various organisations and relatives of those who fell.

The parade which precedes and ends the service includes various bands such as the Bermuda Regiment Band, the Somerset Brigade Band, the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, and the Salvation Army, but the most important contingent is the ranks of bemedalled war veterans themselves, once large but now sadly dwindling, each of whom marches so proudly, not only in memory of comrades lost, but also everyone who fought for peace but never lived to enjoy it.

Two minutes' silence is what King George V decreed in 1919 for his and successive generations to observe in memory of the war dead — a brief interlude which begins when the Sessions House clock strikes 11 a.m.

The ceremonial laying of poppy wreaths by the Governor, other dignitaries and organisation representatives, is followed by a short service of prayers and hymns, before the parade marches off and another year of solemn remembrance is laid to rest.