Solemn ceremony in Parliament lobby to mark Armistice Day 

Gibraltar marked the 108th anniversary of Armistice Day with a solemn ceremony at Parliament House on Wednesday morning. 

The annual event commemorates the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918, which brought an end to World War One. 

The ceremony took place in the Lobby of Parliament House, with a two-minute silence marked by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment at 11am. 

A bugler sounded the Last Post and wreaths were laid by the Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst, as well as by political leaders, other dignitaries and invited attendees. 

The Mayor, Nicholas Guerrero, led the ceremony, with leaders from Gibraltar’s different faiths also present. 

Guards of Honour were provided by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and the Royal British Legion (Gibraltar Branch). 

Earlier this week, as Gibraltar marked Remembrance Sunday at the Cross of Sacrifice, Tyrone Duarte, the Deputy Head of Gibraltar House, laid a wreath at the UK’s National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph in Whitehall alongside representatives of other British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. 

The following day, Mr Duarte was joined by Gibraltar House colleagues in traveling to the Royal British Legion National Remembrance Gardens in Alrewas. The site was known as the National Memorial Arboretum until it was renamed on September 30.   

There they laid three wreaths at the Gibraltar War Memorial on behalf of the Government of Gibraltar, the Royal British Legion (Gibraltar Branch) and the Friends of Gibraltar Heritage Society.  

They also observed a two-minute silence next to the Gibraltar memorial, which was unveiled in 2015 thanks to the efforts of Joe Brugada, who drove the project. 

"I was deeply honoured to lay a wreath in memory of our fallen at the Cenotaph, on behalf of my fellow Gibraltarians and alongside representatives of the other British Overseas Territories,” Mr Duarte, a veteran of the British Army Intelligence Corps, said.  

“Similarly, the Remembrance Gardens bear witness to the sacrifice of millions of British and Commonwealth men and women, of all nationalities, races and creeds, who laid down their lives in the service of sovereign and country, for our freedoms and for their comrades.”  

“It is right that Gibraltar's fallen are remembered here, at the heart of England, with immense gratitude and profound humility. Gibraltar House will now carry out this solemn act of remembrance every year."   

Gibraltar was also represented by Dr John Cortes, the Minister for Education, Environment and Climate, at the annual Remembrance Sunday ceremony at St Andrew's Church in Tangier. 

Dr Cortes laid a wreath alongside the British Ambassador to Morocco, Alex Pinfield; the Australian Ambassador to Morocco, Damien Donavan; the Canadian Ambassador to Morocco, Karl Gagné; and representatives of HMS Cutlass and the Gibraltar Defence Police.  

The church service was followed by the laying of wreaths at the graves of servicemen buried in the church grounds, including servicemen from Gibraltar.  

"Remembrance Sunday is an important opportunity to honour those who gave their lives in service and to reflect on the sacrifices made by generations before us,” Dr Cortes said. 

“It is particularly moving to do so here in Tangier, where servicemen from Gibraltar are among those laid to rest.”  

"Gibraltar and Morocco share a very special relationship, rooted in history and strengthened by the close ties between our people.” 

“Morocco and its people have been an important part of Gibraltar's story for generations, and we greatly value the friendship and cooperation that exist between us.”  

"It was a privilege to represent Gibraltar at this ceremony and to have the opportunity to strengthen those links further through my discussions with Ambassador Pinfield and members of the community."