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Remembrance Day Facts & Worksheets

Also referred to as Poppy Day and Armistice Day, Remembrance Day commemorates the sacrifices made by military men during the war.

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Also referred to as Poppy Day and Armistice Day, Remembrance Day commemorates the sacrifices made by military men during the war. It was first observed in 1919 in the United Kingdom to mark the signing of the Armistice following the First World War. It was renamed as Remembrance Day after 1945.

See the fact file below for more information on the Remembrance Day or alternatively, you can download our 22-page Remembrance Day worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

BACKGROUND: FIRST WORLD WAR

  • The First World War was a military conflict lasting from 1914 to 1918, which involved nearly all the biggest powers of the world. The forces were two opposing alliances – the Allies and the Central Powers. The countries of the Allies included Russia, France, the British Empire, Italy, the United States, Japan, Romania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal and Montenegro. The countries of the Central Powers included Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
  • In addition to the Alliance System, colonial rivalries, and developments in the Balkans, the war was triggered on 28 June 1914 by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his pregnant wife Sophie.
  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was the nephew of Emperor Franz Josef and heir to the throne of Austria and Hungary. The assassination was planned by a Serbian terrorist group, called The Black Hand, and the man who shot Franz Ferdinand and his wife was a Bosnian revolutionary named Gavrilo Princip.
  • The Americans joined World War 1 after 128 Americans were killed by a German submarine. In 1915, the British passenger ship Lusitania was sunk by a German torpedo. In all, 1,195 passengers, including 128 Americans, lost their lives. Americans were outraged and put pressure on the U.S. government to enter the war.
  • President Woodrow Wilson wanted a peaceful end to the war, but in 1917, when the Germans announced that their submarines would sink any ship that approached Britain, Wilson declared that America would enter the war and restore peace to Europe. The United States entered the war on April 6, 1917.
  • About 8 million soldiers died in WW1 and 21 million were injured. 65 million troops were mobilized during the war. Almost 58,000 British soldiers were lost on the first day at the Battle of the Somme. Chemical weapons were first used in World War I. The chemical was mustard gas and used by the Germans.
  • The 100 Days offensive campaign was led by the British army and supported by the French.
  • The peace armistice was signed on November 11th. By the end of the war, four empires — the Russian empire, the Ottoman empire, the German empire, and the Austro-Hungarian empire — had collapsed because of the war.
  • In 1919, The Treaty of Versailles officially ended WW1. The Treaty required that Germany accept full responsibility for causing the war; make reparations to some Allied countries; surrender some of its territory to surrounding countries; surrender its African colonies; and limit the size of its military.

ARMISTICE TO REMEMBRANCE DAY

  • In Latin, armistice means ‘to stand (still) arms’.
  • After 36 days, the armistice expired, but was later extended three times until the formal Treaty of Paris.
  • With over 15 million men killed on the battlefield in WWI, 800,000 of which were British Empire troops, Europe was mourning.
  • Aside from the economic costs, social upheaval in a number of European Empires became common after the war.
  • On the evening of November 10, 1919, George V of Great Britain hosted a banquet at Buckingham Palace to commemorate the first Armistice Day.
  • In April 1918, the two-minute silence, a South African ritual, was adopted, which later spread through the Commonwealth. The first minute was for those who died in the war, while the second was for those they left behind.
  • In 1920, the Cenotaph was built in Whitehall for a peace parade during Armistice Day.
  • Moreover, war memorials were erected in many British towns, cities, and battlefields on the Western Front. For example, the Menin Gate, in Ypres, Flanders, was unveiled in 1927.
  • On August 1932, the Thiepval Memorial, a redbrick structure, was built in the farmland of the Somme. It contains about 72,000 names of British Empire soldiers who died or went missing at the Somme.
  • In 1939, Britain moved the two-minute silence of Armistice Day from the nearest Sunday to November 11.
  • The formal act of remembrance happens during the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
  • By the end of the Second World War in 1945, commemorations shifted to remembering the soldiers of both WWI and WWII.
  • Britain and other allied countries, including New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States commemorate this day. In the US, Veterans Day is also celebrated.
  • In 1915, Lieutenant colonel John McCrae composed a poem entitled In Flanders Fields, which influenced the use of red poppies on Remembrance Day.
  • In reply to McCrae, Moina Michael, wrote We Shall Keep the Faith.
  • In was in 1921 when poppies were first sold in England by members of the British Legion. That same year, returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia adopted the use of poppies.
  • Aside from red poppies, sprigs of rosemary are worn on Remembrance Day and Anzac Day. It commemorates Australian troops who fought in Gallipoli.
  • Combined, WWI and WWII saw an estimated 35,527 Australian soldiers killed and who had no identified grave. They were only commemorated in Memorials to the Missing.
  • In Britain, members of the Royal Family, especially Queen Elizabeth, are joined by the Armed Forces and World War Veterans in visiting the Cenotaph Memorial.
  • In Canada, Remembrance Day is a federal statutory holiday.
  • In Ottawa, a national ceremony is conducted at the National War Memorial. It is attended by Canada’s Governor General, Prime Minister, war veterans, and other government officials.
  • On November 11, Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Poppy Day, and Veterans Day is celebrated in many countries, including Canada, Cayman Islands, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Poland, and France.

Remembrance Day Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the Remembrance Day across 22 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Remembrance Day worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the Remembrance Day which commemorates the sacrifices made by military men during the war. It was first observed in 1919 in the United Kingdom to mark the signing of the Armistice following the First World War. It was renamed as Remembrance Day after 1945.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Remembrance Day Facts
  • The Commonwealth
  • First World War Throwback
  • In Flanders Field
  • Armistice in Letters
  • Remembrance Day in the UK
  • It’s a Yes!
  • Veterans Day
  • WWI Alliance System
  • On Remembrance Day
  • In Memoriam

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Link will appear as Remembrance Day Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, September 26, 2022

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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