HUNDREDS of people gathered outside Worcester Cathedral for a service and ceremony to mark Armistice Day.

Crowds of men and women young and old lined the area around the cathedral and the war memorial to pay tribute to servicemen and women who died in war. They stood motionless in a mark of respect as the golden leaves of autumn fell around them.

A special service conducted by Canon Paul Tongue prayed for not only the dead but those currently engaged in conflicts, civilians whose lives are disfigured by war, as well as peacemakers and the peacekeepers.

Canon Tongue also read a poem about the waste of war by Worcester’s Woodbine Willie, the Rev Geoffrey Anketell Studdert Kennedy, who served as an army chaplin in the First World War.

The event was organised by the Worcester branch of the Royal British Legion (RBL) and about a dozen older members attended, medals proudly pinned to their chests.

Paul and Mark Harding from city-based educational company Discover History wore First World War uniforms and carried historic rifles.

Sunday's Remembrance service at Worcester and Malvern:

After the service, wreaths were laid at the war memorial by Worcester Mayor Lucy Hodgson, chairman of the Worcester RBL Alan Poyner and Ron Jaynes, representing the Welsh Guards.

The Last Post was then played by a lone bugler as bearers lowered the standards of the Worcester branch of the RBL and the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regimental Association.

Roads fell silent as police moved in to stop the traffic for the two minutes’ silence on the stroke of 11am – the time in 1918 when the Great War came to an end. Just the rustle of branches could be heard as the crowd stood with heads bowed.

After the ceremony, Mr Poyner said: “I am really pleased with the turnout. It was amazing, a lot better than we have had for a good many years. I hope that continues.”

Mayor Lucy Hodgson said: “It was incredibly moving. It was highly poignant because it is the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War and we must not forget what they went through.”

She said the road closure put in place this year would continue in the future.