At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them

The First World War was not a fight against evil or tyranny; it was a war caused by politics, economics and imperialism.

Across the globe, around 16 million people lost their lives either on the battlefields or through malnutrition and disease.

Britain lost at least 700,000 servicemen. The figures are almost unimaginable today.

When Britain declared war on Germany on August 4, 1914, most people imagined a short conflict. The nation believed its soldiers would be ‘home by Christmas’.

Instead, more than four years of the bloodiest warfare mankind had ever seen followed.

The horrors of the trenches are well documented, most notably through the war poetry of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon.

There is no-one left alive who served in the First World War. But they must always be remembered.

Today’s centenary is no cause for celebration, but it is a time for solemn commemoration.