ON the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 o’clock 100 years ago the guns finally fell silent on the Great War. The Armistice which had been signed six hours before brought to an end the conflict which had claimed the lives of tens of millions, including around 700,000 British soldiers.

The district will pay its respects to those killed or injured in conflicts around the world on Remembrance Sunday.

There will be civic representations at the following services to mark Remembrance Sunday on Sunday, November 11: Addingham, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Ilkley, Menston and Silsden.

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Coun Zafar Ali will be attending the service in Ilkley in the afternoon. He said: “I’m proud to be representing Bradford for this year’s remembrance, 100 years on from the end of the First World War.

“Remembrance Day is particularly important to the people of the Bradford district, and in this centenary year local people will be particularly keen to take part in services to remember those who have lost their lives in conflict.

“Bradford itself paid a heavy cost during the First World War and most of us know the tragic story of the Bradford Pals who suffered terrible losses in the first day of the Battle of the Somme. We will all take a moment to remember them on Sunday.

“It is also vital that those who are currently serving in the armed forces remain in our thoughts.”

List of remembrance services across the district attended by civic representatives:

Addingham: 10.30am - Service at St Peter’s Church, Church Street, Addingham. 11.45am - Parade from St Peter’s Church to the War Memorial, Main Street (by Memorial Hall). Wreath laying ceremony.

Burley-in-Wharfedale: 9.45am - Service at The Methodist Church, Main Street, Burley-Wharfedale. 10.45am - Act of Remembrance and laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph.

Ilkley: 2.40pm - assemble at Whitton Croft Road (directly behind the Town Hall). 2.50pm - Parade on Chantry Drive, Station Road and The Grove. 3pm - Remembrance Service and wreath laying ceremony in the Memorial Gardens.

Menston: 10.30am - assemble at the memorials outside Kirklands Community Centre. 10.45am - Service commences. Refreshments in Community Centre following service.

Silsden: 10.30am - Parade assembles at Wesley Place. 10.45am - Parade departs for Cenotaph. 11am - Service and wreath laying ceremony at the Cenotaph, Memorial Gardens, Kirkgate.

Temporary road closures will be in place across the district for some of these services.

In Ilkley an unusual wreath will be among those laid by Jacqui Whitleley who has been leading a wreath project at the Ilkley and District U3A craft group to remember the ‘Unremembered’ who also served and sacrificed.

The poppy is a symbol for those lost in conflict but it was not only the soldiers, airmen and naval sailors who served and gave of themselves. There were others whose contributions and sacrifice have often been forgotten. They were The Unremembered. Disease and injury caused many deaths; many did not return home. They were buried in the battlefields or here in the UK.

The Unremembered were the men and women who cooked, cleaned, and cared for the soldiers on or behind the front lines. They built roads and railways, they transported food, fuel and ammunition. They filled sandbags and dug trenches. They came from all over the world, but particularly from regions now forming the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in March this year wanted to remember the Unremembered, and they asked for wreaths to be designed and made, that would be laid in their remembrance in November 2018. The U3A Craft group was invited to contribute to the project.

Their wreath is not the usual wreath of red poppies, but is the combined work of many people, and in colours inspired by their medal ribbon and in flags of some of the Unremembered’s countries of origin. One hundred years and one week before the wreath laying one particular man died. He is buried in Ilkley’s cemetery. He was 300002, J. Smith. The records do not tell us what name the ‘J’ represents or his date of birth. He was in the Labour Corps, a Royal Engineer, a Sapper, one of the Unremembered.

Also in Ilkley 240 wooden red poppies will be ‘planted’ in Ilkley Memorial Gardens at the end of The Grove on Saturday ahead of the 100th Anniversary Remembrance Day service on November 11 at 3pm.

They will commemorate the 220 men and women resident in Ilkley were killed in action during the four years of the First World War. A further 20 more pupils of Ilkley Grammar School who lived outside the town were also lost in the conflict.

Edward Wild, a long-standing Ilkley resident, has meticulously researched their lives and produced a list of their names and details, often with photographs.

Artist Russell Brown has crafted the six-inch diameter flower heads and stalks from timber and painted them with long-lasting paint.

Organised by Steve Butler the cost has been raised primarily from amongst the lawyers and estate agents of Ilkley. Anyone who wishes to assist in "planting" the poppies is asked to attend at the Memorial Gardens on Saturday, 10th November at about 12 noon.