![]() In English folk tradition, the poppy has long symbolised sleep and death. Scarlet corn poppy growth is aided by massive disruption in soil and thus the devastation of the natural environment caused by the Napoleonic wars saw fields littered with corpses alongside bright red poppies. These same sources drew the first documented comparison between the blood-red colour of the poppies and the blood spilt during conflict. Although it is commonly assumed that the origin of the poppy as a symbol is derived from the devastation of the First World War, there are several anonymous documents written during the Napoleonic wars which noted that following battle, poppies became abundant on battlefields where soldiers had fallen. The first use of the poppy as a metaphor can be traced back to the Napoleonic wars of the early nineteenth century, rather than the First World War. The history of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance is not as clear cut as has been previously assumed. Since the appeal’s inception in 1921, the poppy has become an international symbol of remembrance for those who have given their lives defending their respective countries. The history of the poppy as a symbol of respect for the war dead is now almost one hundred years old. The poppy appeal raises money for those who have served or are currently serving in the armed forces and have subsequently been affected physically, mentally or economically by war. In the present day the ‘poppy appeal’, organised by The Royal British Legion, takes place in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday, which occurs on the Sunday nearest to Armistice Day. The RSL sells millions of red cloth poppies with proceeds going towards raising funds for welfare work.The remembrance poppy has become the defining symbol of reverence for the millions of soldiers who lost their lives in conflict. They are an exact replica in size and colour of the poppies that bloom in Flanders’ Fields. Today, cloth poppies are sold on, or around, 11 November each year. Firstly, in memory of the sacred dead who rest in Flanders’ Fields. Secondly, to keep alive the memories of the sacred cause for which they laid down their lives and thirdly, as a bond of esteem and affection between the soldiers of all Allied nations and in respect for France, our common battleground. "The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia and other Returned Soldiers Organisations throughout the British Empire and Allied Countries have passed resolutions at their international conventions to recognise the Poppy of Flanders' Fields as the international memorial flower to be worn on the anniversary of Armistice Day.”Īustralians wear a Red Poppy on Remembrance Day for three reasons. The League adopted the idea in 1921, announcing: The Red Poppy was adopted as that emblem and since then has been accepted as the Emblem of Remembrance. In England in 1919, the British Legion sought an emblem that would honour the dead and help the living. In soldiers’ folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground. Worn on Remembrance Day (11 November) each year, the red poppies were among the first to flower in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium in the First World War. The Red Poppy has special significance for Australians. ![]() What is the significance for Australians? At the second battle of Ypres in 1915, when in charge of a small first-aid post, he wrote in pencil on a page from his despatch book, a poem that has come to be known as 'Flanders' Field' which described the poppies that marked the graves of soldiers killed fighting for their country. McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. He was buried in the cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain. A young friend and former student, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, was killed on 2 May. ![]() Whilst serving in the First World War, one death in particular affected the then Major McCrae. Trooper Pulanco places a red poppy next to the names of the cavalry soldiers killed during World War Two at the Australian War Memorial.Ĭanadian Colonel John McCrae first described the Red Poppy, the Flanders’ poppy, as the flower of remembrance.
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