HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : First World War Veterans at Number 10 [November 2008]

The press release issued by 10 Downing Street on 11 November 2008.

Gordon Brown welcomed three First World War veterans, Henry Allingham, Harry Patch and William Stone, to a reception at 10 Downing Street today following the Armistice Day tribute at the Cenotaph.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said the three men had brought “meaning, life and immediacy” to the day’s events. The Armistice Day commemorations had “caught the national imagination” not just because of the sacrifices of the past but because of the sacrifices of those still serving today, he added.

The Secretary of State for Defence, John Hutton, also attended the reception, along with Correlli Barnet, Honorary President of the Western Front Association, and Hadyn Jones of the London Welsh Male Voice Choir.

This year’s Armistice Day marks the 90th anniversary of the end of the First World War.