War memorials across the Isle of Wight will today (Sunday) focus on laying wreaths of poppies and a two minute silence at 11am in memory of the millions who have died in war.

We also remember below,  Bill Stone, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch the last World War One veterans who passed away earlier this year… 

Also today 8th November 2009, over 7000 veterans will gather at The Cenotaph in Whitehall, to take part in the annual Remembrance Sunday March Past, organised by The Royal British Legion , the National Custodian of Remembrance.

Peter Cleminson, the National Chairman of The Royal British Legion, said:

“Remembrance Sunday is one of the most important days in the Legion calendar and it’s a time to reflect upon the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces since the First World War right through to today. Our thoughts on Sunday will, of course, be with those men and women who are currently in Afghanistan, as well as the many men and women who have laid down their lives for the nation’s freedom.”

There are many Memorials across the Isle of Wight and for those wishing to pay a private tribute please visit this link.

Today brings a special remembrance: At the intensely moving Remembrance Sunday commemorations last November, on the 90th anniversary of the end of the Great War, three veterans of that conflict laid wreaths on the Cenotaph: Bill Stone, Henry Allingham and Harry Patch. Aged between 108 and 112, they were all dead by the following July.  With their passing, there are no more British veterans of the First World War trenches alive anywhere in the world.

In an extract from his new biography, Peter Parker charts the remarkable life of Britain’s last World War One veteran, Harry Patch.

When the guns fell silent on 11th November 1918, Patch was still in training on the Isle of Wight.

“The war might have been over,” he recalled, “but its effects were never far away.”  He never spoke about the war – not even to his wife of 57 years.

Patch never courted publicity and occasionally complained that he was tired of talking about the war, but it was inevitable that he would attract attention as he became one of the very last survivors.

On June 17 this year Patch celebrated his 111th birthday with a party in the garden of Fletcher House. The following day, his portrait went on display at the National Portrait Gallery.

At 9am on July 25, only a week after the death of Henry Allingham, aged 113, Harry Patch died. At the time of his death, Britain’s last veteran was also the oldest man in Europe and the third-oldest in the world. He remained alert and articulate until the end.

The Last Veteran: Harry Patch and the Legacy of War by Peter Parker: more here