British Embassy commemorates 'Remembrance Day' in honor of Armed Forces members

On Saturday 12 November, the British Embassy held a service at Beirut Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery to commemorate Remembrance Day. This is an annual event held in honor of people from all nations who have been killed or injured in conflicts around the world. The date of November 11 marks the end of the First World War in 1918 and around the world there will have been similar acts of remembrance over this weekend.

The British Ambassador, Hamish Cowell, was joined in giving a reading by the American Ambassador, Dorothy Shea, the German Deputy Head of Mission, Katharina Lack and the French Defense Attaché, Colonel Gregory Medina.

Ambassadors and official representatives laid wreaths on the memorial. A two minutes’ silence was held at the end of the service.

The Beirut Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery is the final resting place of round 1,200 members of the Commonwealth forces killed during the First and Second World Wars, most of whom were from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. The war graves are supervised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The service was conducted by Archdeacon Imad Zoorob, Rector of All Saints Anglican Episcopal Church. Also in attendance was the British Defense Attaché, Lt. Col. Lee Saunders, representatives of the Lebanese Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, and the Director General of the General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim. Ambassadors, diplomats and military attachés of U.S., European and Commonwealth countries were also present.

On Friday 11 November, another service was held at the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Tripoli. Ambassador Hamish Cowell laid a wreath.

The Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Tripoli contains the graves of 87 Commonwealth soldiers and airmen who lost their lives during the 1941 campaign in Syria and Lebanon. There are also 12 Polish and Greek war graves and seven non-war naval burials.

The Ambassador also paid respects at the memorial to the 358 British sailors who lost their lives on board the Royal Navy ship HMS Victoria, which sank off the coast of Tripoli in 1893. The wreck is a protected war grave and the final resting place of 352 of the ship’s company, while the remains of six shipmates were recovered and laid to rest in the cemetery.