TODAY IS ... Remembrance Day, the time we remember the servicemen and women who have fought for our freedom and given their lives for our country.

Here are 10 facts about the occasion:

  • Remembrance Day takes place on November 11 to mark the moment the hostilities of the First World War came to an end at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
  • The first Remembrance Day was held in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth.
  • The occasion was formerly known as Armistice Day. The name changed after the Second World War.
  • Poppies’ use as a symbol of remembrance was inspired by the poem 'In Flanders Fields' by Canadian John McCrae, with its opening lines referring to the thousands of poppies that were the first flowers to grow in the churned-up earth of soldiers' graves.
  • Money raised by the sale of poppies is used by the Royal British Legion to support servicemen and women.
  • The national Poppy Appeal fund-raising target is £37 million to allow the RBL to carry out its vital work. The nation's biggest armed forces charity spends £1.6 million every week in direct welfare support and answers more than 170,000 calls for help.
  • Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November each year, with services at war memorials and churches.
  • The Queen lays the first wreath during the national ceremony at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
  • Every November 11 there is a two-minute silence at 11am for people to remember all those killed in the First World War and other conflicts.
  • The Poppy Girls, featuring Dartford teenager Bethany Davey, have released a charity single to raise money for this year’s Poppy Appeal.