London - Commemorations to honour the war dead were given special poignancy in Britain Wednesday by the rising death toll of troops deployed in Afghanistan and the absence for the first time of World War I veterans. Queen Elizabeth II attended a service at Westminster Abbey to remember Armistice Day - the day the guns fell silent on November 11, 1918 - which was held for the first time without any veterans being present.
The last three remaining World War I veterans in Britain died in the course of this year.
They were Bill Stone, 108, Henry Allingham, 113 and Harry Patch, 111. Claude Choules, the last remaining British World War I veteran, aged 108, lives in Australia.
Wednesday's service coincided with a growing debate in Britain about the rising death toll in Afghanistan, where 233 soldiers have died since 2001.
Outside the Abbey, small wooden crosses remembering the overwhelmingly young casualties in Afghanistan have been added to those recalling the dead of the two world wars in the last century.
