Two Minute Silence as important as ever, say Britons
The British are steadfastly united that the Two Minute Silence is still important, despite the deaths this year of the last remaining British veterans to have seen active service in the First World War. In the survey for The Royal British Legion conducted by Ipsos, a massive 94% of the public said that it is important to continue observing the Silence despite the passing this year of the last fighting Tommy, Harry Patch, who was 111 years of age. Eight in ten adults say it is "very important" to continue observing the Two Minute Silence and another 14% say it is "fairly important." Among thirtysomethings 35-44 years of age, support for the Silence is nearly universal at 99 per cent. Even among the youngest, the 16-24 year olds, over nine in 10 (94%) say it's "very" or "fairly" important. "The results show an astonishing support for the Silence, but perhaps not so astonishing when set against the terrible cost of conflict this year in Afghanistan," said the Legion's Director of Corporate Communications Stuart Gendall. "The Silence is now as much about the Afghan generations as it is for the Armistice generation." The Two Minute Silence was first observed 90 years ago this year on the request of King George V, who felt it should be held on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1919 to coincide with the signing of the Armistice a year earlier. The tradition has endured, and the Legion campaigned in the 1990s to have it restored to a more prominent place in Remembrance observances. The Legion will be holding two mass participation Silences on Wednesday morning in Swansea's Castle Square and London's Trafalgar Square, supported by artists such as Stephen Fry, Athlete, Bonnie Tyler, Mark Knopfler, Blake, Cerys Matthews, and BBC Choir of the Year Only Men Aloud. While the survey results show near-universal support for the Silence, there is less certainty of how it should be observed. Younger people are nearly as likely to observe the Silence as the older generation -- three in four or 74% of those 16-24 years of age said they were certain or very likely to fall silent at 11 o'clock, compared with 76% of those aged 65 years and over. Three people in 10 said that they would observe a Silence with other people. "We often hear from people who want to observe the Silence, but who don't know where to do it," said Mr Gendall. "Through our Silence in the Square programme we are trying to provide a people's Silence for those who want to share the observance with others."
Technical Note The survey was conducted by Ipsos for The Royal British Legion among 1,054 British adults age 16 plus between 6 and 8 November 2009.
