SSAFA at the Festival of Remembrance and Cenotaph

12 November 2025

Article written by Lady Walmsley, SSAFA National Vice-Chair

Remembrance weekend is a special time to commemorate all who have served and fallen in the multiple wars in which members of the British Armed forces have been involved. The two largest set-piece national events are the Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday night and the ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday. 

SSAFA was privileged to be able to attend both events.  

On Saturday we entertained some of our volunteers and beneficiaries at the Festival of Remembrance. Compèred by the brilliant Hannah Waddingham, it starred performers including the legendary Sir Rod Stewart, Keala Settle and The Wellermen, as well as musicians from all branches of the Armed Forces. It was an emotionally charged evening: I wasn’t the only one a touch weepy during the singing of Abide With Me and the falling of the poppies during the two minutes’ silence.  

At 0830 on Remembrance Sunday, the SSAFA contingent, made up of representatives of our charity from across the country and led by the National Chair, myself, and the CEO, gathered on Horse Guards Parade. Due to the complexities of staging the march-past of 10,000 people, we had to muster on Whitehall 90 minutes before the commemoration started.  

This year the SSAFA contingent was able to see the big screen erected in front of the Ministry of Defence, which made it much easier for us all to follow what was going on and see the King and other VIPs lay their wreaths. (There are no loudspeakers further down Whitehall so last year we missed all the action.) The two minutes’ silence was impeccably observed and was a deeply profound moment. It is very rare to feel such silence right in the centre of a normally bustling capital city.  

We eventually marched past the Cenotaph and laid our wreath at 1230 before marching back to Horse Guards Parade and saluting HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who was on the dais alongside Secretary of State for Defence the Rt Hon John Healey. After a hearty singing of the National Anthem, the parade was dismissed.

Having been standing for over five hours, our aching knees and backs sought recovery in a number of nearby restaurants and pubs. But we were all so proud to be there and it was a truly special moment of reflection in our 140th year.