In 2021, The Speaker of the House of Commons opened the first ever Constituency Garden of Remembrance, where MPs planted Remembrance stakes on behalf of their constituencies. The Garden is open again for 2022 and Watford’s MP planted a stake on behalf of the town.
The Garden provides an opportunity for MPs, Ministers and representatives from the Commonwealth and British Overseas Territories to participate in an act of Remembrance which represents their constituency or overseas territory.
The first Remembrance Day was held on 11th November 1921, following a campaign led by Earl Haig, Commander-in-Chief of the Army during the First World War, and founder of the British Legion.
This followed the unveiling of the Cenotaph in Whitehall by King George V on 11th November 1920 and the decision to adopt the poppy as a symbol of remembrance.
Dean Russell said: "I was honoured to plant a wooden cross in the Constituency Garden of Remembrance in memory of service personnel from Watford. I would also like to thank the Royal British Legion who do so much to provide lifelong support to serving and ex-serving personnel and their families.
"The garden is a fitting way to pay tribute to those who have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life, many making the ultimate sacrifice."
Big Ben will strike 11 times to mark the start of the Two Minutes of Silence at 11 am on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday - joining bells across the country and worldwide to commemorate those that lost their lives in the two world wars and later conflicts.
