Remembrance Sunday speech template (United Kingdom)
Published 10 October 2026 · Date checked on 5 October 2026 · Written by the Cue Card Converter team at EventProgrammer, event production professionals
Remembrance Sunday falls on the second Sunday in November and is the principal day for national ceremonies remembering those who died in the two world wars and later conflicts. The national service at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London, includes a two-minute silence at 11 a.m., the laying of wreaths and a march past of veterans. Across the country, people gather at local war memorials and places of worship, many wearing poppies, and veterans often wear their medals.
- Date
- Second Sunday in November
- Next dates
- Sunday 8 November 2026
Sunday 14 November 2027
Sunday 12 November 2028 - Country
- United Kingdom
- Tone
- Solemn – remembrance
- Typical events
- Services at town and village war memorials, places of worship, Royal British Legion branch parades, regimental associations and civic ceremonies organised by local councils.
- Length
- 215 spoken words · about 1.5 min at 130 words a minute · 5 cue cards
The Remembrance Sunday speech, ready as cue cards
A complete host script in 5 cards, about 1.5 minutes of speaking. Open it in the editor to add your names, change the card size or highlights, and print.
- WELCOME1 / 5
Good morning, and thank you for coming to our war memorial on Remembrance Sunday. My name is {Your name}. Like towns and villages throughout the United Kingdom, we have gathered here this morning to remember those who gave their lives in the service of others. - THE NAMES ON THIS MEMORIAL2 / 5
The names carved on this memorial belong to people from our own streets. They were somebody's neighbours, friends and family, and their loss was felt in homes like ours. Today we remember them, and everyone from across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth who has died in war and conflict since. - THE SILENCE3 / 5
Please stand if you are able. {Reader's name} will read the Exhortation. The Last Post will then sound, and we will keep two minutes of silence, ending with Reveille.
[EXHORTATION – LAST POST – TWO-MINUTE SILENCE – REVEILLE] - LAYING OF WREATHS4 / 5
Wreaths will now be laid on behalf of our community. As your name is called, please come forward in turn: {Wreath-layers, in order}. Please remain standing while the wreaths are laid.
[WREATH LAYING]
Thank you. Please remain where you are for a moment longer. - CLOSING5 / 5
Thank you all for standing together this morning. Refreshments will be served afterwards at {Hall or venue}, where our veterans and members of the Legion would be glad to talk with you. Please leave the memorial quietly, and keep in your thoughts all those we have remembered today.
Red is used only for names, titles, organisations, dates, times and section headings. Replace the words in {curly brackets} with your own details; lines in [SQUARE BRACKETS] are stage directions and are not read aloud.
How to adapt it
- Local orders of service vary. Agree the sequence of the Exhortation, Last Post, silence, Reveille, Kohima Epitaph and wreath-laying with your bugler, clergy and Royal British Legion branch beforehand.
- Agree the wreath-laying order with the council and local organisations in advance, and print the full list for the host so that no one is missed or called out of turn.
- Veterans wear their own medals on the left breast. Relatives who wear a family member's medals in their memory traditionally wear them on the right.
- Remembrance Sunday falls on the second Sunday in November, so it moves each year and is not always 11 November. Check this year's date before printing invitations.
Print and rehearse
“Edit and print these cards” opens the script in the free cue card maker, where you can choose A5, 4 × 6 or 3 × 5 inch cards, print several per sheet with cut lines or export PDF, PowerPoint and Word, and rehearse full screen in practice mode. To write your own programme around it, see how to write an MC script and the run of show template.
Sources
Date and background checked on 5 October 2026 against: Armistice Day | About Remembrance | Royal British Legion. Customs vary between organisations and regions; always follow the official programme of your event.
More United Kingdom speech templates
- St David's Day · March 1
- St George's Day · April 23
- Armistice Day · November 11
- St Andrew's Day · November 30