Armistice 1918-2018 On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the guns fell silent along the Western Front and the First World War effectively ended. Six hours earlier a German delegation had accepted harsh ceasefire terms after three days of talks in a railway carriage parked at a siding north of Paris. The fallen of the First World War are remembered on 11 November in many countries around the world. In New Zealand and Australia, Armistice Day has always been overshadowed by Anzac Day (25 April), which was first observed in 1916 and has been a full public holiday in New Zealand since 1921. Armistice Day was nevertheless observed in New Zealand. Until the 1950s, trains would come to a halt and vehicles would pull over to the kerb just before 11am on 11 November. Drivers and passengers observed two minutes’ silence.
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