The British Embassy in Beirut hosted a service at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Beirut on Sunday 21 November to commemorate Remembrance Day, in honour of armed forces members of all nations killed and injured during World Wars I and II and in other conflicts around the world.

The service was attended by the British Ambassador Dr Ian Collard who was joined in giving a reading by the German Ambassador Andreas Kindl, the American Ambassador Dorothy Shea and a representative of the French Ambassador Anne Grillo. Also in attendance was the British Defence Attaché, Lt. Col. Lee Saunders, and the UK’s COP26 Regional Ambassador for the Middle East and Africa, Janet Rogan.

The service was conducted by a British military chaplain, visiting from the UK.

Also present were representatives for the Lebanese Army Commander, General Joseph Aoun, and the Director General of the General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim. Ambassadors, diplomats and military attachés of US, European and Commonwealth countries were also present. 

At the end of the service, a two minutes’ silence was held before Ambassador Collard and other Ambassadors and official representatives laid wreaths on the memorial.

The Beirut Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery is the final resting place of around 1,200 members of the Commonwealth forces killed during the First and Second World Wars, most of whom were from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. The war graves are supervised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.