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Sunday 11 September 2011

9/11 anniversary: UK services marking terror attacks


Remembrance services for those who died 10 years ago in the 9/11 attacks on the US are taking place across the UK.
     Families of some of the 67 British victims have gathered in central London for a service at Grosvenor Chapel.
A ceremony will also be held at the September 11 Memorial Garden near the US embassy and at St Paul's Cathedral.
Foreign Secretary William Hague paid tribute to the "courage and dignity" of the US and victims of other attacks, including the 2005 London bombings.
The UK commemorations got under way just after 08:00 BST at Grosvenor Chapel in Mayfair, next to the US embassy in central London, a church where US servicemen worshipped during World War II.
The centrepiece of the service was the lighting of a single candle by deputy American ambassador Barbara Stephenson, in memory of those who died on 9/11.
'Reconciliation' call Canon Jim Rosenthal, who led the service, said the attacks knew "no race, creed, gender, age or status".
He told the congregation: "The violence which took place in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington took its toll as nearly 3,000 people were killed in less than one hour.
William Hague UK Foreign Secretary
"Remembering such horrific scenes is not easy. But remembrance is not static - it's a constantly growing and evolving action which gives us the opportunity to take hold of the past and transform it to reach out with grace, understanding and healing."
The families of the British victims will later join representatives from the fire, police and ambulance services at a larger ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral.
The service will honour the courage of those working for the emergency services and remember all 2,977 victims of the attacks in New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Wreaths will later be laid at the memorial garden in Grosvenor Square and family members will be invited to read the name of their loved ones and to lay a rose in their memory.
In the evening, there will a service at Westminster Abbey.
'Staggering experience' Members of the UK's Firefighters Memorial Trust will lay a wreath in memory of the 343 members of New York's fire department killed while responding to 9/11.
Sir Ken Knight, from the trust, said: "It's got many strong memories for all of us, whether you're a firefighter or not, but particularly poignant for firefighters.
"The fire service around the world is a very large family and we face the same hazards and the same risks and the same challenges, and we've got the same firefighters that serve their communities in such a hugely heroic way."
Services are also planned for the American Church in central London and Birmingham Cathedral. In the South West of England, there will be events in Plymouth and at Truro Cathedral and Exeter Cathedral.
A minute's silence will also take place at the Rick Rescorla memorial in Hayle, Cornwall. Mr Rescorla, 62, who grew up in the town and was a security manager for a firm in the Twin Towers, died after leading more than 2,000 people to safety.
Faith leaders and politicians will take part in a peace walk in Edinburgh, and there will be services in Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Son's day At Belfast City Hall, there will be a flower-laying ceremony and a minute's silence at 13:46 BST will mark the time American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the World Trade Center.
Kevin Dennis, who was working as a stockbroker for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 101st floor of the North Tower, was one of the Britons killed in the attacks.
His mother, Patricia Bingley, told the BBC that 9/11 was the most horrific day of her life.
She said: "I watched it live on the television. I saw the two towers and one was belching with smoke, and my heart went in my mouth, my stomach seemed to drop, I shook and I just stood there and watched.
"And I saw the plane hit the second tower and I thought 'oh my God, my Kevin, where is he?'. And then when the second tower went down I knew I'd lost him, I just knew.
"I just want to keep his memory alive, and with Grosvenor Square with the anniversary I lay a rose for him and then I call his name and that's his day."
In the US, commemorations will be held at the British embassy in Washington, while in New York the consul general will be among those attending a memorial concert at the British Garden in Hanover Square where the 67 UK victims are commemorated.
'Courage and dignity' Mr Hague said: "Today, we commemorate the citizens of the United States and over 90 countries who perished in the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, including 67 British nationals.
"We remember the courage and dignity of the American people in the face of such appalling loss. And we also recall the victims of other global acts of terrorism since - including the attacks in London in 2005.
"Such attacks have only served to bring the international community closer together, and to bolster those who seek change through peaceful means, not through barbaric violence."
Mr Hague said al-Qaeda was "now weaker than at any time in the decade since 9/11 - and political progress through peaceful protest in the Middle East and North Africa has shown it to be increasingly irrelevant to the future".
He added: "So while we remember the victims of 9/11, stand firm with our allies and remain tirelessly vigilant against future threats, we also face the future with confidence in our values and faith in human nature".
 said 9/11 "was not only an attack on the United States, it was an attack on the world and on the humanity and hopes that we share".
He added: "We remember with gratitude how 10 years ago the world came together as one. Around the UK, entire cities came to a standstill for moments of silence. People offered their prayers in churches, mosques, ­synagogues and other places of worship.
"And we in the United States will never forget how the people of Britain stood with us in ­solidarity in candlelight vigils and among the seas of flowers placed at our embassy in London.
"We are touched that the UK will honour the victims again today - including by breaking with protocol and flying the Union Flag at half-mast at its ­embassy and consulates in the United States."

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