Britain honors fallen soldiers

LONDON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Civilians and officials throughout Britain gathered Sunday to honor British men and women killed in conflicts worldwide.

The BBC said ceremonies in honor of the fallen soldiers drew thousands of people Sunday, including Queen Elizabeth II who laid a wreath in honor of the troops at the Cenotaph in London.

Also in attendance at the London monument were top military and political leaders, along with 7,500 former service members and 1,600 civilians.

Britain's fallen soldiers were also remembered in Afghanistan as the Rev. Mark Christian spoke to hundreds of British and coalition troops stationed in the Helmand Province.

"Remembrance for me is picking up the gauntlet, it is steeling ourselves for the fight that lies ahead of us for if we do not do that their lives have been given in vain," Christian said.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, spoke at a Remembrance Sunday service in North Yorkshire, Britain.

Williams said "the courage, the sacrifice, the risk taking and the generosity that go on elsewhere in situations of extreme risk, it somehow feeds the rest of us."

"It somehow keeps the rest of us alive," he added.