Remembrance Day marks the anniversary of the armistice which ended the First World War (1914–18).

Each year Australians observe one minute silence at 11 am on November 11, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts.

At 11 am on November 11, 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.

The allied armies had driven the German invaders back, having inflicted heavy defeats upon them over the preceding four months.

In November the Germans called for an armistice (suspension of fighting) in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years.

The moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war.

Poppies are worn as many bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War 1.