PEACE campaigners held Alternative Remembrance Day events across Britain yesterday, calling for recognition of civilian victims of war.

In London’s Tavistock Square, the annual National Alternative Remembrance Ceremony took place in front of the memorial stone for conscientious objectors, with attendance from Oscar-winning actor Sir Mark Rylance and Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

A two-minute silence was observed before white poppy wreaths were laid in memory of all victims of war, both civilian and military, from all nationalities.

Mr Polanski said: “It is important to me to prioritise being here as well as at the National Service of Remembrance.

“Remembrance should not only be about the past but also look towards a better future.

“It should be about actively promoting peace and to say wholeheartedly: never again.”

Ceremony organiser Peace Pledge Union’s Geoff Tibbs said civilians “bear the brunt of the violence” yet are “rarely acknowledged at the Cenotaph each year.”

“For too long, their lives and experiences have been sidelined,” he said.

Every Casualty Counts (ECC) and Quakers in Britain marked the day by launching “Memorial 2025,” a project telling the stories of more than 100 civilians killed this past year in Ukraine, Sudan, Mexico, and Palestine.

The groups projected a “virtual cenotaph” with victims’ testimonies onto the Quakers’ building in Euston.

ECC executive director Rachel Taylor said: “Every life lost to war is a tragedy and should be remembered.

“But remembering those who died in wars of the past is a hollow act if we don’t also recognise the victims of war today.”

Across Britain, other remembrance events took place, including a candlelit rally and a procession in Aberystwyth, where a wreath reading “Heddwch i Bawb” — “Peace for All” — was laid.

An online rally was also held, hearing from speakers addressing the genocide in Gaza, the Lakenheath Royal Air Force base, and the Vietnam War.

At the official Remembrance Sunday ceremony in London, King Charles laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph, followed by his son William.

Thousands of veterans, including some in wheelchairs, attended the event, along with senior politicians, the current and former prime ministers, and representatives from the Commonwealth.

Ahead of the event, the Stop the War Coalition said that politicians “will be putting on a show of mourning the war dead,” adding: “Having spent two years supporting a genocide in Gaza and arming the Israeli state, their hypocrisy could hardly be greater.”