THE acts of remembrance across Britain during the last few days have been quite remarkable.

It seems as though paying tribute to the nation's fallen becomes more important with each passing year.

The further away we are from events like the First World War, the more determined we seem as a people to ensure those who gave their lives in the service of their country are never forgotten.

This year's remembrance services were particularly high profile and particularly poignant because 2014 marks 100 years since the start of the war to end all wars.

The remembrance period also came just a few days after the end of Britain's combat operations in Afghanistan.

The fallen from a war in which anyone who served is now dead and a war that has lasted for the entirety of the 21st century were remembered in the same way.

And that, of course, is how it should be.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this year's national remembrance have been the huge crowds drawn to see the incredible display of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London.

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, as the art installation is called, has attracted five million visitors as it has evolved over the last few months.

The last poppy, created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins and placed in a setting designed by Tom Piper, was placed on Armistice Day. In all, there were 888,246 hand-made poppies in the display - each one representing the death of a British and Commonwealth soldier during the First World War.

More than 17,000 volunteers have been planting the poppies since July.

It was an incredibly dramatic and moving installation and everyone involved with it deserves praise.

On a very much smaller scale, we have tried to do our bit at the Argus to mark the centenary.

We launched this year's Gwent Poppy Appeal with a £3,200 donation from the proceeds of our Gwent's Great War special publication that came out 100 years to the day that Britain declared war on Germany.

And this week we marked Armistice Day with a special front page.

The words 'Lest We Forget' filled the page, with each letter filled with a series of images taken by our photographers of war memorials across Gwent.

It was an idea I had at the start of the year as we began planning our coverage of the centenary - and I'm particularly proud of the front page we produced on Tuesday after months of work from our photographers.

It said, in a few simple words and a montage of many images, exactly what I wanted it to.

There should be no forgetting of the sacrifices others have made for us through the last century.

Remembrance does not glorify or celebrate war. It offers a chance for all of us to pay a solemn tribute and to say a silent thank-you to those who fell in the service of their country, whether or not we agree with the reasons why they were sent to war.

This week has shown the nation is more determined than ever before to remember.