By James Bregman BBC News Online

Neither heightened security nor dreadful weather could water down this year's Remembrance Day parade in London.

About 7,000 war veterans, military and civilian personnel, made their way past even greater numbers of well-wishers along Whitehall toward the traditional wreath-laying ceremony, attended by the Queen and Prince Philip.

Just days after the government's latest warning about terrorist threats, the inevitable post-9/11 security measures were fully evident.

(Security) is just a sign of the times and wouldn't stop us coming

Shirley French

Spectators hoping to get within a few hundred metres of the Cenotaph itself had to file through airport-style x-ray machines, whilst police marksmen surveyed proceedings from Whitehall rooftops.

But a relaxed tone managed to prevail, and most onlookers appeared unflustered by the increased police presence.

"We've got exactly the same sort of atmosphere as last year and the year before", said Shirley French, who had arrived early to take up a front-row position and watch her granddaughter take part in the march toward Whitehall.

Immaculate timing

"It's just a sign of the times and wouldn't stop us coming".

The dire November weather threatened to be a far greater inconvenience, and many spectators were soaked through long before they had found a vantage point.

Security was tight around the ceremony

Royal Navy veteran Ron Wallbank, who served under Lord Mountbatten on HMS Kelvin, said the rain was the worst he could remember in the past 15 years.

But with immaculate timing, it eased off as the wreath-laying ceremony got underway shortly before 11am, and a very impressive turnout defied the elements.

Remembrance Day may be the time for commemorating the fallen, but the gathering in London was also an opportunity for veterans to reunite with colleagues and reminisce with strangers, as groups hastily congregated and struck up conversations in doorways to escape sudden downpours.

The main ceremony itself went ahead with the appropriate dignity, and the poignant two minute silence on the stroke of 11, framed by cannon shots from the Kings' Troop Royal Horse Artillery, brought an unnerving calm to central London.

Veterans return from the march

Prayers read by the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, were broadcast across the streets of Westminster via giant speakers, and recent controversy surrounding the Royal Family took a backseat as the Queen laid a wreath of poppies at the base of the Cenotaph.

But when the central formalities were complete, the solemnity gave way to a more upbeat mood as continuous applause greeted the thousands of veterans and current servicemen and women walking back to Horseguards' Parade.

Toward the end of the procession, one section of marchers sang along to a military band with an enthusiastic rendition of 'Pack up Your Troubles' - managing to get a surprising number of bystanders to join in.