Leaders of Europe, Canada unite for 100th anniversary of WW l
05 Aug 2014
Lights across Britain and some other commonwealth nations were switched off for an hour on Monday in a tribute to the dead of the First World War.
British landmarks like Trafalgar Square were dark from 10 pm local time, and Prime Minister David Cameron asked all Britons to switch off all but a single light in their homes for an hour.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Ireland, Canada, Belgium, and France, with all the nations' top leaders, including the prime ministers and virtually all members of England's royalty.
The Great War - as it was called before WWII – was supposed to be the 'war to end all wars'. This of course proved a sanguine hope.
The 'lights out' call is perhaps inspired by the observation of Britain's then foreign minister Lord Grey on the eve of 4 August, 2014: "The lamps are going out all over Europe. We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime."
The war spread carnage across Europe, especially northern France and Belgium, killing 17 million soldiers and civilians in 1914-18. One million of the dead were soldiers from Britain and its then empire, including 60,000 Canadians and a large number of Indian soldiers.
British Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William, second-in-line to the throne, attended the 100th anniversary ceremonies in Scotland and Belgium.
Speaking at an event in Liege, William, paying tribute to those who died, noted that the current fighting in Ukraine showed that instability continued to haunt Europe.
''We were enemies more than once in the last century and today we are friends and allies," the prince said, alluding to Germany and its supporting states in both World Wars.
"We salute those who died to give us our freedom. We will remember them," he told Belgium's King Philippe and other heads of state attending the Liege ceremony at the Allies' Memorial, near to where German troops invaded Belgium in the early hours of Aug. 4, 1914 - the event that brought Britain and its empire, including Canada, into the war.
Politicians and royalty from 83 countries, including presidents François Hollande of France and Joachim Gauck of Germany, were among those in Liege; while in Glasgow, Scotland, Cameron was joined by heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles at a centenary service.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper commemorated the 100th anniversary in Ottawa, saying Canada's independence was "forged in the fires" of the conflict.
Speaking at the Canadian War Museum, Harper said that the Great War decimated a generation of young Canadians; "Yet amid the appalling loss, by any measure, Canada as a truly independent country was forged in the fires of the First World War.''
