EVERY year, as November 11th approaches, millions of people in the UK and Commonwealth Countries can be seen wearing a bright red poppy pinned to their jacket or blouse. Western expatriate citizens all over the world are often seen wearing them as well, including those in Jeddah, and many newsreaders and politicians are seen wearing them on TV networks such as BBC World and Sky News. So what is the significance of the date, and the red poppy? The date commemorates the end of the First World War, also known as the Great War, when the guns were finally silenced at 11 am on 11th November 1918. It was then known as “Armistice Day”. The symbolism of the red poppy as the promise of resurrection after death goes all the way back to Greco-Roman mythology. This was because it was one of the only plants to grow on the disturbed soil of the battlefields. Its association with battlefield deaths as a symbol of resurrection and remembrance had a resurgence in the Napoleonic Wars (1799 – 1815) when once again red poppies were the first plants to grow on the churned up battlefields and soldiers' graves. Another century later, during the Great War of 1914 – 1918, red poppies grew in profusion following the terrible battles and trench warfare in northern France and the Flanders region of Belgium. Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with the Canadian Armed Forces in the trenches in Ypres, was deeply moved by the sight of these poppies. In 1915, on a piece of paper torn from a notebook, he wrote one of the most memorable poems of that war, “In Flanders Fields”. The first verse reads: In Flanders' Fields the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. Having shown the poem to a soldier delivering the mail, the poem was very nearly never heard of again. Dissatisfied with what he had written, the surgeon threw away the piece of paper on which it was written. However, a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England and it was published by Punch magazine on 8th December 1915. Moina Michael, who worked with the American YMCA, then read the poem in a Ladies magazine two days before the Armistice was announced. She was so moved by it that she wrote a poem in reply. The last few lines read: And now the torch and poppy red Wear in honour of our dead Fear not that ye have died for naught We've learned the lesson that ye taught In Flanders' Fields. From then on, she wore a red poppy every day until she died in 1944. She was determined to get the poppy adopted as a national symbol of remembrance in the United States and in September 1920, the American Legion adopted the Poppy at its Annual Convention. Meanwhile, Frenchwoman Madame Guerin became concerned that the free world was “forgetting too soon those sleeping in Flanders' Fields.”. She met Michael at the American Legion convention and was so impressed with the idea of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance that she took it back to France. In 1921, she enrolled war widows and orphans to make silk poppies which were then sold in France, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and England to raise money in support of the veterans and their families. Madame Guerin convinced the newly formed British Legion, a charity to help those who had served in the armed forces, to adopt the poppy as their official badge of Remembrance. She and her representatives then visited Canada, Australia and New Zealand and convinced them to adopt the logo and fundraising concept for their war veterans as well. Following Madame Guerin's example, the making of the poppies was perceived as way of providing employment for the wounded war veterans in UK. In 1922, a young infantry officer named Major George Howson suggested to the British Legion that disabled war veterans be given employment by making the poppies for the annual Armistice Day fund raising. In 1922, he opened the first poppy factory in the Old Kent Road in London, with the aim of employing 150 disabled veterans. He wrote to his parents: “I do not think it can be a success but it is worth trying.” By 1925, with the full quota of 150 disabled employees working in the factory, they moved to the current location in Richmond. As well as making individual poppies, the factory also makes elaborate wreaths to lay at the Cenotaph in London on Remembrance Sunday (the second Sunday in November, this year 9th November). Specific ones are made for the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, as well as wreaths dedicated to all the individual armed forces and countries of the Commonwealth, and a huge rectangular one to be placed over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Westminster Abbey. Following the Second World War (1939 – 1945), 11th November became known as “Remembrance Day”. It is now a day to remember all those who have died in past and present conflict. Since the end of WWII, the only year when a member of the British Armed Forces has not been killed in active service was 1968. For individuals to personalize their Remembrance, Major Howson had also created a “Field of Remembrance” at Westminster Abbey. Visitors to the Poppy Factory, and now on-line, can select symbols: a small wooden cross for Christians, a crescent shape for Muslims, a star for Jews, or a single bar for those of other faiths such as Sikhs, Buddhists and Hindus. The name and a dedication is written on the symbol, or even a photo can be attached, plus the name of the armed force & division, and all these are then planted in one of over 250 categories in the Field of Remembrance. This year, Remembrance Day on 11th November will commemorate 90 years since the end of the First World War. Worldwide, there are only twelve surviving verified veterans: Henry Allingham of the UK, now 112 years old, is the oldest. He is the last known survivor of the Battle of Jutland, recognized as being one of the largest sea battles in history. Harry Patch, also of the UK, is 110 years old and is the last survivor of trench warfare. Poppies are circulated by several UK associated institutions in Saudi Arabia, including British Business & Women's Groups, and the British Embassy and Consulate, who also hold an event of remembrance to honor the occasion. __
