A two minute silence is observed at 11am on 11th day of the 11th month because this is when the Great War, or World War 1, came to end in 1918.

I wanted to do something like this today particularly as at 11am today I forgot. During the two minutes I was frantically swearing at the radio as I desperately tried to retune it... I didn't realise my local radio station was broadcasting "white noise" during the silence.

Well at least I bought a poppy.