AS Oxfordshire gathered yesterday to remember those lost in conflict, a call has gone out to people to honour tomorrow’s two-minute silence on Armistice Day.

Tomorrow, offices, shops, and homes will fall silent in a solemn moment of respect for those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

Fallen soldiers from the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry will be remembered in a special Turning of the Pages ceremony, when the Book of Remembrance will be brought from the military chapel in Christ Church into the main cathedral for only the second time in history.

The centenary of the First World War will add extra poignance to the act of remembrance, but the two minutes will be a chance to reflect on those who fell in all conflicts.

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Lee Mackie, 59, from Bampton, lost her son Royal Marine Jason Mackie, 21, when he died in Afghanistan in May 2009.

She said: “Everyone should take part in the two-minute silence because it gives us time to reflect on what soldiers do and why they do it.

“It’s the last thing we can do when soldiers have given up their lives so we can live in a secure manner.

“Before Jason died I used to think poppies just meant remembrance but now I see that every one of those poppies represents an actual person.”

Marine Mackie was supporting IX Company of the Welsh Guards when his vehicle struck an explosive device in the Basharan area of central Helmand, Afghanistan.

Mrs Mackie will attend a service in Barnstaple, Devon, because one of her other two sons, Richard, is a Royal Marine there.

In Oxford, Terry Roper, chairman of the Oxford branch of the Royal Green Jackets Association, will lead this year’s Turning of the Pages ceremony.

Mr Roper, 65, from Barton, Oxford, served in the Royal Green Jackets and The Rifles from 1970 to 2012 and retired as a Major after serving in Germany, Cyprus, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The event starts at 10.45 am and will be finished by 11am for the two minutes silence, followed by the last post.

Lord Mayor Mohammed Abbasi will lead the silence at 11am at the Town Hall with city council staff encouraged to down tools for two minutes.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said: “The Armistice Day silence reminds everyone of how futile wars are and this is a particularly good year to remember how futile war is and how damaging war is to everyone involved. The centenary makes that particularly symbolic.”

Oxfordshire County Council staff will also take part in a short ceremony in the Common Hall at County Hal.

Royal British Legion county chairman Jim Lewendon, 85, has been selling poppies for the past 41 years.

The father-of-three, from Girdlestone Road, Headington, said: “I sincerely hope people will observe the two-minute silence – over the past few years it has been something we have tried to do.

“If would be great if shoppers in supermarkets did observe it. Whatever people are doing we would like them to stop what they are doing to reflect on the ultimate sacrifice.”

Oxford Mail:

 Lee Mackie with a picture of her son Jason, who was killed in Afghanistan

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