It’s a time when we honour the memory of members of the armed forces and the civilians who sacrificed their lives in both World Wars and other conflicts with two minutes of silent contemplation.

The date and time of 11am on November 11 coincides with the time in 1918 at which the First World War came to an end.

The origin of this mark of respect for the dead has its roots in South Africa.

In April 1918 the mayor of Cape Town had lost his son in battle and a public observance of three minutes silence was held each day for a whole year. Three minutes was considered too long and this was revised to two with the first minute being thanks for those who came home and the second for the fallen.

The two minutes was signalled by firing a gun and as people fell silent a bugler would sound the Last Post and then Reveille after the two minutes had elapsed.

In 1919 Lord Northcliffe wrote to the Colonial Office describing the two minutes silence at Cape Town and proposed that this be part of our Armistice Day Service.

The proposal was put to the King who supported it and he put the idea to the War Cabinet where it was immediately approved.

The Times published a press statement from George V on November 7, 1919 which said that it was his Majesty’s “desire and hope” that when the Armistice came into force there would be two minutes of complete silence. During that time the thoughts of everyone should be concentrated on remembrance of those lost in the war.

The first nationwide two minutes of silence took place in Britain on Armistice Day, November, 11 1919.

The wearing of a red poppy is also associated with Remembrance Day and this has its roots in Canada.

In shell ravaged Flanders, the one plant that thrived in the mayhem and chaos of warfare was the poppy.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a field surgeon with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, had lost his friend in action and while conducting his burial service he was drawn to the poppies. They inspired him to write his well-known poem In Flander’s Fields which has the immortal lines “In Flander’s fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row”.

The remembrance poppy was inspired by the American Moina Michael after reading McCrae’s poem and also a French woman Madame Guérin who had been raising funds for French and American war charities by selling artificial remembrance poppies.

Many organisations adopted the poppy as their memorial flower after the war.

Today the poppy is worn in the UK to commemorate servicemen and women killed in action.

Southampton’s Cenotaph in Watts Park was the first of many designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens and influenced his later designs, including The Cenotaph in London.

It was built following an outpouring of sentiment after the war. It has a brick core faced with Portland stone and was unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, and dedicated by the Bishop of Winchester, on 6 November 1920.

Initially wreaths and bouquets of coloured flowers were left on the Cenotaph but later the poppy wreath became the symbol of remembrance.

At the north end of Andrew’s Park is the Queen’s Peace Fountain constructed at the time of the millennium and the refurbishment of the city’s parks and paid for with funds raised by the City of Southampton Society with contributions from the City Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

It was switched on in 2001 by Jack Candy, the Chair of the City of Southampton Society and a member of the Southampton Commons and Parks Protection Society at the time and the inspiration behind the fountain.

The Peace Fountain shows appreciation for the Queen’s and the people’s service to the nation and 56 years of peace during what was the bloodiest century known to man.