Remembrance Day is a day to honour the sacrifices made by the British military servicemen and women in the First and Second World Wars and the conflicts after that.

Pupils from Broughton Moor Primary School attend a special service to mark Remembrance Day at St Mary's Church, Maryport (Image: Tom Kay)

Every year, a two-minutes silence is observed at 11am on November 11. It is also known as Poppy Day or Armistice Day in the UK and many other countries.

Jessica Jarvis from Maryport Juniors at the service at St Mary's Church, Maryport (Image: Tom Kay)

While Remembrance Day is not a public holiday in the UK, most people stop what they are doing and remain silent for a few minutes to pay their respects to the dead.

The Field of Remembrance at St Cuthbert's Church in Carlisle (Image: Stuart Walker)

Remembrance Sunday is observed on the second Sunday of November after Remembrance Day. On this day, the National Service of Remembrance is held at the Cenotaph at Whitehall.

Ceremony at The Field of Remembrance at St Cuthbert's Church in Carlisle (Image: Stuart Walker)

Remembrance Day was originally known as Armistice Day. It was first observed on November 11, 1919. This date was chosen because a year previously, in 1918, the First World War came to an end and a peace treaty or armistice was signed between Germany and the Allied powers.

Dignitaries wait to lay their wreaths on the Cockermouth Cenotaph during the Remembrance Day service (Image: Mike McKenzie)

On May 8, 1919, Edward George Honey, an Australian journalist, suggested the observance of a five-minute silence for all the people who sacrificed their lives in the war. King George V learned about it on November 7, 1919 and made it official four days later. However, instead of a five-minute silence, he insisted on the observation of a two-minute silence.

Dignitaries wait to lay their wreaths on the Cockermouth Cenotaph during the Remembrance Day service (Image: Mike McKenzie)

The red poppy is the official symbol of Remembrance Day in many countries including the United Kingdom.

Scouts line the path for Remembrance Day 2015 in Dalston (Image: Picasa)

During the First World War, most of the places in Western Europe were destroyed due to continuous bombings and fights. Rich and cultivable lands turned barren and unfit for all kinds of growth. Among such depressing scenes, the Flanders poppy or common poppy were still growing in these lands, unaffected by their environment.

Marking Armistice Day in Carlisle city centre (Image: Stuart Walker)

An American professor named Moina Michael became very inspired by this and proposed to use it as an official symbol for Remembrance Day in the US as well as in other countries such as the UK, Canada and Australia.

Every year, the Royal British Legion organises the Poppy Appeal, when paper poppies are sold in October and November to raise money for supporting serving personnel, veterans, and their families.