Photographs courtesy of Sid Saunders and Shaun Chappell

Remembrance day started early for one group when a piper struck up at 6am beside the war memorial in Alexandra Park to commemorate the moment when, at dawn 100 years ago, in a railway carriage in France, the armistice agreement that would end the Great War was signed.

Hastings Borough Council Leader Peter Chowney was there and said afterwards: “It was a simple commemoration, with about a dozen people there, including Mayor Nigel Sinden and Deputy Mayor James Bacon, but I found it particularly moving, a direct connection with that event exactly 100 years ago, as the first light filtered through turbulent clouds.”

At 11am, marking the 100th anniversary of the armistice coming in to effect hundreds of local people flooded the park to remember those who had paid the ultimate price. There was an exhortation by Father David Hill on the need to seek peace first and to avoid war altogether.

Mr Chowney said: “Those of us who are old enough to have memories of relatives who fought in both world wars won’t be around that much longer and when that second generation passes on, it gets much harder to remember. We have a duty to make sure our children and grandchildren carry these memories on to future generations and that they can avoid the mistakes of our past… and always work for peace, not war.”

A spokesman for Hastings Branch of the Royal British legion said: “The people of Hastings and St Leonards did the town proud this morning as we paused to remember.”

Hastings MP Amber Rudd added: “It was a packed Remembrance service in Hastings, there were more wreaths laid than ever before, particularly from members of public showing that ‘We Will Remember Them'”.

Below are a selection of photographs that show the huge numbers of people who turned out on Sunday to remember those who lost their lives in defence of their country.