The pretty little UK town that was the first in the world to hold a two-minute silence

What is believed to be the world's first two-minute silence took place not in Westminster or on a battlefield abroad, but in the quiet Surrey market town of Farnham. On May 10, 1916 - three years before the first national remembrance silence was introduced - hundreds of townspeople gathered on Castle Street to honour those killed, wounded, or missing in World War 1.

Recently uncovered documents from the National Archives confirm that Farnham was the first place in Britain - and possibly the world - to hold a public two-minute silence in memory of the fallen. The silence came before an agricultural fair organised by local farmers to raise funds for the British Red Cross. At 11am, the bustling crowd stopped as bugles played, heads bowed, and only the faint sounds of cattle and passing motor cars could be heard.

Local historian Maurice Hewins described the scene as "happy chaos," transformed into a moment of powerful calm, according to the BBC. "Press reports said it was very moving and nothing could be heard except some cattle and the occasional movement of a motor car," he said.

Lauren Wayland, manager at the Museum of Farnham, said imagining that moment just under a century ago remains deeply moving.

"It really is quite emotional to imagine the energy in that street when the silence was held," she said. "There must have been hundreds of people in that crowd who had been impacted by the horrors of war."

At the time, Britain was reeling from the heavy losses at Ypres and the introduction of conscription: "It was difficult not to mark the occasion," Mr Hewins added.

While King George V would later establish the national two-minute silence in 1919, Farnham's early act of remembrance quietly set the example that would become a global tradition.

Ms Wayland said: "I believe that probably overshadows Farnham's role in bringing the silence to this country - but it all started here."

Farnham is a historic market town in southwest Surrey, about 40 miles from central London and 11 miles west of Guildford. It sits near the Hampshire border, roughly an hour's drive or train ride from the capital, surrounded by rolling countryside and Georgian architecture. Farnham has a population of around 40,000 residents, according to the most recent estimates from the Office for National Statistics.

Farnham has ancient roots, with evidence of settlement dating back to Roman times, around the 1st-4th centuries AD. The town itself is first recorded in written history in AD 675, and it grew around its Saxon and medieval market, with Farnham Castle established in 1138 to control the surrounding area.