"the thing I objected to most was turning it into a CofE thing" - your words Dave the Gnome.

It would appear that quite a few here have clearly described and detailed the format of "The Festival of Remembrance" and in no way whatsoever could it be described as "a CofE thing". It has, is and always will be an all faith service of commemoration - there again you'd have known that had you bothered to watch it.