Millions of people across Britain and the rest of Europe fell silent at 11 o'clock this morning to mark Armistice Day and remember all those who have died in war.

Tens of millions in the UK stopped what they were doing to pause and observe two minutes of silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the moment the First World War ended in 1918.

In London, wreaths were laid at the Cenotaph and at memorials for the five million people from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Africa and the Caribbean who fought in both world wars. Business halted and the London Eye, lit up in red, stopped turning.

"The two-minute silence is the single biggest annual demonstration of public support for any cause in the country," said Stuart Gendall, a spokesman for the Royal British Legion. "This small yet significant individual and collective act is a rare moment when the nation can stand together and reflect upon the price of freedom."

John Reid, the Secretary of Defence, said: "Remembrance Day not only commemorates the many heroic acts and great sacrifices made during both world wars, it also allows us to thank those currently on active service." More than 8,000 British servicemen and women are deployed in Iraq.

At Edinburgh Castle, home to the Scottish National War Memorial, the famous One O’Clock Gun was fired at 11am. In Aberdeen, traffic lights were switched to red and in Dundee prayers were said on the steps of the Caird Hall and a brass band played The Last Post.

Britain’s oldest war veteran marked the occasion by returning to northern France to attend two ceremonies to remember his comrades. Henry Allingham, 109, a founding serviceman of the RAF, laid a wreath at St Omer airfield, near Calais, at a memorial to the 4,700 British air personnel who died in the Great War.

"By coming here, you recall things you want to forget. I do the best I can. I come here to pay homage to these brave men. I dare not think about things too much because I would not be able to control myself. I take a deep breath," said Mr Allingham, who also attended a service in the town of St Omer.

Elsewhere in France, Armistice Day ceremonies were overshadowed by the country’s struggle to contain a wave of rioting, although fears that the rioters would pour in from the suburbs to disrupt the main Paris ceremonies proved unfounded. "Today, we don’t want an armistice. We want peace," said Michel Gaudin, the national police chief. "An armistice is a temporary halt. What we want is definitive peace for the suburbs."

In Belgium, where 10 million soldiers lost their lives during the First World War, King Albert II led a national service of remembrance. Thousands, including veterans from Britain, Canada and Australia, gathered at the Menin Gate in Ypres, erected in memory of 55,000 soldiers who died in fighting near the town and whose bodies were never found.

"At this mythical hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, if we were to play the Last Post, one for each allied soldier... it would take until the year 2700," said Guy Gruwez, chairman of the Last Post committee.

The Queen will lead Remembrance Sunday ceremonies this weekend in London, with representatives from the Government, Parliament, the armed services and veterans groups.

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