THE Queen led the nation in a two-minute silence in honour of Britain's war dead yesterday.

Thousands of veterans gathered at the Cenotaph in central London to pay tribute to their fallen comrades on Remembrance Sunday.

This year's service held special significance for the Shot at Dawn campaigners.

For the first time, they marched in the parade since an Act of Parliament pardoned more than 300 servicemen executed for breaches of discipline during the First World War.

Gavin Engelbrecht, a reporter with The Northern Echo, joined supporters of the campaign on the parade.

It was the first time a representative of the newspaper had taken part in the service, recognition of the part its reporters played in the campaign to right the injustice by granting posthumous pardons to the soldiers - many of them from the North-East.

Prime Minister Tony Blair and former prime ministers Baroness Thatcher and Sir John Major joined in the annual act of remembrance.

More than 8,000 former servicemen and women - some in wheelchairs - paraded past the Cenotaph.

An Iraq war widow laid a wreath, not of traditional poppies but of autumn leaves - fallen leaves for the fallen - in memory of the 16,000 people who have been killed on duty since the Second World War.

Raqual Harper-Titchener's husband, Major Matthew Harper-Titchener, commanding officer of the 150 Provost Company The Royal Military Police, was killed in Iraq in August 2003.

The Queen placed a wreath of red poppies at the base of the Cenotaph.

She was followed by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Kent.

Watching from a balcony at the Foreign Office was Prince William, with the Duchess of Cornwall, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra.

Prince Harry, who is serving with the Blues and Royals, was not present, attending a private service with the Household Cavalry.

Wreaths were also left by Mr Blair, Tory leader David Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell and High Commissioners from more than 40 Commonwealth countries.

ä Region remembers - Pages 8 & 9