We will remember them. Today was a sobering reminder of all our wonderful armed forces who so bravely put themselves on the front line for all of us, and of those who have lost their lives defending king and country. I sat at home and observed my silence alone today but on Sunday I will be going to the cemetery, with my family, to pay respects and lay a wreath with the school before the Remembrance Service.

I can remember being a small child and asking my Dad (Major, Royal Fusilier) why he had chosen to be in the Army.. I knew that, when I was 2, he had seen his friends killed whilst serving on the streets of Northern Ireland, amongst other atrocities, and I just couldn't understand it. He simply answered that it was what he wanted, he wanted to serve his country and do what he could to protect us all, not just his family but friends and strangers too, he was never afraid of conflict. Looking back I imagine he was terrified really, leaving his family and not ever really knowing whether he was coming home to us must have been heartbreaking, but he was always so brave, so accepting and pragmatic. Even now that he is a retired serviceman, he works for the MOD and was instrumental in the construction of the Basra Memorial Wall. He also repatriates our soldiers lost in Afghan, and each time he meets the planes that land at Brize Norton I know he feels the pain in equal measure. I am immensely proud of my Dad, his empathy, loyalty, devotion, his huge heart and great capacity for love and forgiveness, all these things make him incredibly special, to so many people.

So to our fallen, our casualties - the grand fathers, fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, sisters, brothers, and all our loved ones - at the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.