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Londoners mourn and remember
SPECIAL REPORT
RELATED
QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSLONDON, England (CNN) -- On the first Sunday after four deadly attacks in London left at least 49 people, Britons mourned the victims of the bombings as they marked the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II. Huge crowds gathered outside London's Buckingham Palace for an ornate ceremony marking the end of the war, 60 years on. David Prowse, a wing commander with the Royal Air Force, said there was a growing sense "of not being put off, not being deterred." "We saw this on a daily basis during 1939 and 1945," he said, "and we're inspired by our veterans to carry on." The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams gave an address at Westminster Abbey, and Queen Elizabeth II placed flowers in commemoration of those who died in the war. The queen marked the anniversary by driving with her husband Prince Philip in an open-topped car. CNN's Richard Quest said this would boost the spirit of defiance exhibited by Londoners. The queen also attended a veteran's lunch at Buckingham Palace, followed by a commemoration in Horse Guards Parade in central London, a parade in the Mall and a fly-past of vintage aircraft. But amid Royal Air Force flyovers and celebratory music, people in London and throughout the country were also mourning victims of the worst attack the nation has seen since that war. On Thursday, four bombings in Britain's capital killed at least 49 people and left 700 wounded. (Full story) In her address at Sunday's celebration, the queen said: "It does not surprise me that during the present difficult days for London, people turn to the example set by that generation of resilience, humor, sustained courage, often under conditions of great deprivation. "That example and those memories should be kept alive by younger generations as they, in turn, strive to keep the peace in our troubled world." The queen and her eldest son, Prince Charles, have visited the wounded in London hospitals and sent a message of defiance to terrorists on behalf of the British people. (Full story) Londoners packed churches across the city to mourn the victims of the attacks and pray for peace and calm. People streamed into St. Pancras Parish Church for a memorial service, near where the bus bomb killed 13 people. "This will only make us more determined to live in peace and respect each other and we can all play our part in that," the UK's Press Association quoted the Rev. Paul Hawkins as telling the congregation. "There are no Muslim terrorists. There are terrorists. There are criminals who claim to be Muslims. We all know that the vast majority of our Muslim friends and neighbors are as horrified and disgusted at what has happened as we are." Memorial services also were held at St. Paul's Cathedral, where special prayers were to be offered and candles lit in honor of the victims, AP said. And Britain's top religious leaders made a joint appearance Sunday, asking all faiths to unite in condemning and fighting terrorism Williams was joined by the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor; Free Churches Moderator David Coffey; Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks and Sheikh Zaki Badawi, who heads the Council of Mosques and Imams. They met "to proclaim our wish to resist any form of violence and to work for reconciliation and peace," Murphy O'Connor said. "People do things in the name of Islam which are totally contrary to Islam," Badawi said. Williams said it was "a huge fallacy to suppose that one community is somehow more intrinsically prone to violence or outrage than any other." At the Vatican, Pope Benedict told the London bombers to stop their killings and prayed that God would change their hearts. "We pray for the people killed, for those injured and for their loved ones. But we even pray for the attackers: Lord, touch their hearts," Reuters quoted Benedict as telling the crowds in St. Peter's Square. "To those who foment feelings of hate and carry out such revolting terrorist acts, I say: God loves life, which he created, not death. And I say, stop, in the name of God." Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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