The Royal British Legion
The Two-Minute Silence
The Solution
Our solution was to ask celebrities of stage, screen and sport to dedicate their social media platforms, just prior to the silence, to Serving and ex-Service members of the Armed Forces.
We paired the likes of astronaut and army test pilot Major Tim Peake, Olympic champion Sir Ben Ainslie and Dragon’s Den star Deborah Meaden with veterans from their home towns. The stars dedicated their platforms to the veterans as a way of saying thank you for their Service.
Major Tim Peake posted his message of remembrance for Jack Mortimer. Second World War veteran Jack, who turned 99 this year, was a dispatch driver with 12th Ordnance Beach Detachment. He landed on Sword Beach on D-Day driving a jeep carrying ammunition and mortars. He was just 20 years old.
In his Instagram post Major Tim Peake said: “This year I will be dedicating my Two-Minute Silence to Jack and everyone in the Armed Forces community who has served and sacrificed to protect our way of life, despite having never met us” He then encouraged his 400,000 Instagram followers to join him in the act of remembrance at 11am.
The Impact
Other notable stars and sports teams taking part included: Hull FC, Newcastle Falcons, Twiggy, Sir Ben Ainslie, Carol Vorderman, Deborah Meaden, Elaine Paige, Baroness Karren Brady of Knightsbridge, Simon Reeve, Harlequins RFC and Simon Callow.
