Shrewsbury stops and falls silent to mark Armistice Day 2026

The people of Shrewsbury fell silent to mark Armistice Day in a moving service honouring the nation's war dead.

There were more than 100 people gathered in the county town’s Square under the watchful eyes of the Clive of India statue to commemorate those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

Veterans, senior figures from the local Royal British Legion, the clergy and the Mayor of Shrewsbury Bernie Bentick were in attendance.

Speaking before the two minute silence, which this year marked 108 years since the guns fell silent in the First World War, Mayor Bentick issued a simple message to the dead and surviving veterans of war.

He said: “I offer the sincere gratitude of Shrewsbury.”

There was a poignant calm when the hustle and bustle of Shrewsbury town centre came to a halt at 11am.

Shoppers paused, whilst buses remained at their stops, as Stan Wilkinson, who served 25 years in the British Light Infantry and the Rifles, sounded the Last Post.

Speaking before the service began, Mr Wilkinson revealed why he believes it is important to continue the remembrance tradition.

He said: “I lost a lot of friends”

Adding: “It has got to be important that we carry on doing this [remembering].”

Another veteran, Phil Breeze, said: “As the generations are getting older and older, youngsters need to understand what it is all about.”

Following the moving service, speaking to this newspaper, Mayor Bentick said: “I was immensely proud of the people of Shrewsbury for coming to the event today to mark the signing of the peace treaty at the end of the First World War, and to mark those who died and suffered in all the conflicts since.”

He went on to say: “It is a great tradition of Shrewsbury to be involved with the military and we are proud of that also.”

Asked why he believes it is important to continue with remembrance commemorations, the mayor said: “I think it is the sincerest form of gratitude to work as strenuously and timelessly as we can to promote dialogue, agreement, accord and prevent wars - even though we are moving into an era of increased international tensions with the need for development of our military forces.”