Remembrance poppy

Artificial "remembrance poppies" at a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium

Remembrance Day 2006 in London, England

The remembrance poppy (a Papaver rhoeas) has been used since 1920 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. Inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields", they were first used by the American Legion to commemorate American soldiers who died in that war (1914–1918). They were then adopted by military veterans' groups in the Commonwealth; especially the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Today, they are mainly used in the UK and Canada to commemorate their servicemen and -women who have been killed since 1914. Small artificial poppies are often worn on clothing on Remembrance Day/Armistice Day (11 November) and in the weeks before it. Poppy wreaths are also often laid at war memorials.

The remembrance poppy is especially prominent in the UK in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Sunday. They are sold by The Royal British Legion for its "Poppy Appeal" and it is institutionalized for public figures to wear one, which some have berated as "poppy fascism". The poppy is especially controversial in Northern Ireland and most Irish nationalists and Irish Catholics refuse to wear one due to the actions of the British Army during The Troubles. There has also been controversy over their introduction to the world of sport.

Origins

The use of the poppy was inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields". Its opening lines refer to the many poppies that were the first flowers to grow in the churned-up earth of soldiers' graves in Flanders, a region of Europe that overlies parts of Belgium and France. The poem was written by Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae on 3 May 1915 after witnessing the death of his friend, a fellow soldier, the day before. The poem was first published on 8 December 1915 in the London-based magazine Punch.

Moina Michael on a 1948 U.S. commemorative stamp

In 1918, American YWCA worker Moina Michael, inspired by the poem, published a poem of her own called "We Shall Keep the Faith". In tribute to McCrae's poem, she vowed to always wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in the war. At a November 1918 YWCA Overseas War Secretaries' conference, she appeared with a silk poppy pinned to her coat and distributed 25 more to those attending. She then campaigned to have the poppy adopted as a national symbol of remembrance. At a conference in 1920, the National American Legion adopted it as their official symbol of remembrance. At this conference, Frenchwoman Anna E. Guérin was inspired to introduce the artificial poppies commonly used today. In 1921 she sent her poppy sellers to London, where they were adopted by Field Marshal Douglas Haig, a founder of the Royal British Legion. It was also adopted by veterans' groups in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Usage

Commonwealth of Nations

Canadian poppies

Canada

In Canada, the poppy is the official symbol of remembrance worn during the two weeks before 11 November, after having been adopted in 1921. The Royal Canadian Legion, which has trademarked the image, suggests that poppies be worn on the left lapel, or as near the heart as possible.

The Canadian poppies consist of two pieces of molded plastic covered with flocking with a pin to fasten them to clothing. At first the poppies were made with a black centre. From 1980 to 2002, the centres were changed to green. Current designs are black only; this change caused confusion and controversy to those unfamiliar with the original design.

Until 1996, poppies were made by disabled veterans in Canada, but they have since been made by a private contractor.

In 2007, sticker versions of the poppy were made for children, the elderly, and healthcare and food industry workers. Canada also issues a cast metal "Canada Remembers" pin featuring a gold maple leaf and two poppies, one representing the fallen and the other representing those who remained on the home front.

Following the installation of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial in Ottawa in 2000, where the national Remembrance service is held, a new tradition formed spontaneously as attendees laid their poppies on the tomb at the end of the service. [disputed: this was practised elsewhere in Canada before 2000] This tradition, while not part of the official program, has become widely practiced elsewhere in the country, with others leaving cut flowers, photographs, or letters to the deceased.

Royal British Legion poppy

A poppy on a bus in Southampton, England (November 2008)

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, remembrance poppies made of paper, "paper poppies", are sold by The Royal British Legion (RBL) and Haig Fund. These are charities providing financial, social, political and emotional support to those who have served or who are currently serving in the British Armed Forces, and their dependants. They are sold on the streets by volunteers in the weeks before Remembrance Day.

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, the poppies have two red petals, a green paper leaf and are mounted on a green plastic stem. According to the RBL, "The red poppy is our registered mark and its only lawful use is to raise funds for the Poppy Appeal". In Scotland, the poppies are curled and have four petals with no leaf and are sold by Earl Haig Fund Scotland. The yearly selling of poppies is a major source of income for the RBL in the UK. The poppy has no fixed price; it is sold for a donation or the price may be suggested by the seller. The black plastic center of the poppy was marked "Haig Fund" until 1994 but is now marked "Poppy Appeal". A team of about 50 people—most of them disabled former British military personnel—work all year round to make millions of poppies at the Poppy Factory in Richmond.

In the early years after World War I, poppies were worn only on Remembrance Day itself. However, today the RBL's "Poppy Appeal" has a higher profile than any other charity appeal in the UK. The poppies are widespread from late October until mid-November every year and are worn by the general public, politicians, the Royal Family, and others in public life. It has also become common to see poppies on cars, lorries and other forms of public transport such as aeroplanes, buses, and trams. Many magazines and newspapers also show a poppy on their cover page, and some social network users add poppies to their avatars. In 2011, a WWII plane dropped 6,000 poppies over the town of Yeovil in Somerset

Some have criticized the level of compulsion associated with the custom, something Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow has called "poppy fascism". Columnist Dan O'Neill wrote that "presenters and politicians seem to compete in a race to be first – poppies start sprouting in mid-October while the absence of a poppy is interpreted as absence of concern for the war dead, almost as an unpatriotic act of treachery". Likewise, Jonathan Bartley of the religious think-tank Ekklesia said "public figures in Britain are urged, indeed in many cases, required, to wear ... the red poppy, almost as an article of faith. There is a political correctness about the red poppy". Journalist Robert Fisk complained that the poppy has become a seasonal "fashion accessory" and that people were "ostentatiously wearing a poppy for social or work-related reasons, to look patriotic when it suited them". Kleshna, one of two businesses with an exclusive tie-in with the RBL, sells expensive crystal-clad poppy jewelry that has been worn by celebrities.

Northern Ireland

The Royal British Legion also holds a yearly poppy appeal in Northern Ireland and in 2009 raised more than £1 million. However, the wearing of poppies in Northern Ireland is controversial. It is seen by many as a political symbol representing support for the British Army. The poppy has long been the preserve of the unionist/loyalist community and it is seen as a symbol of Britishness.

Most Irish nationalists/republicans refuse to wear one and those who do have been much criticized. They regard the poppy appeal as supporting soldiers who killed civilians (for example Bloody Sunday) and who colluded with illegal loyalist paramilitaries (for example the Glenanne gang) during The Troubles. In 2008, the director of Relatives for Justice condemned the wearing of poppies by police officers in nationalist areas, calling it "repugnant and offensive to the vast majority of people within our community, given the role of the British Army". In 2009, Sinn Féin's Glenn Campbell berated the policy that all BBC TV presenters must wear poppies in the run-up to Remembrance Day and urged the BBC to drop the policy, as it is a publicly funded body. In the Irish Independent, it was claimed that "substantial amounts" of money raised from selling poppies are used "to build monuments to insane or inane generals or build old boys' clubs for the war elite".

However, some leading SDLP politicians have recently endorsed wearing the poppy. On Remembrance Day 2010, Margaret Ritchie became the first leader of a nationalist party to wear one.

Republic of Ireland

The RBL has a branch in the Republic of Ireland and holds a yearly poppy appeal there. It also holds a wreath-laying ceremony on the state's National Day of Commemoration in July. This ceremony is attended by the President of Ireland and is held at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. Some of the Republic's citizens still enlist in the British Army, although it is banned from actively recruiting in the Republic under the Defence Act 1954.

United States

In the United States, the American Legion distributes crepe-paper poppies in exchange for contributions. "Poppy Day" is usually the same as or near Memorial Day in May. However, many Legion groups also make poppies available around 11 November.

Other designs and purposes

White poppies

A white poppy left on Anzac Day in New Zealand, 2009

Some people choose to wear white poppies as a pacifist alternative to the red poppy. The white poppy and white poppy wreaths were introduced by Britain's Co-operative Women's Guild in 1933. Today, white poppies are sold by Peace Pledge Union or may be home-made.

Purple poppies

To commemorate animal victims of war, Animal Aid in Britain has issued a purple poppy, which can be worn alongside the traditional red one, as a reminder that both humans and animals have been – and continue to be – victims of war.

Protests and controversy

At a Celtic v Aberdeen football match in November 2010, it was decided that both teams would play with poppies sewn to their shirts. This was in response to an appeal by Haig Fund Scotland. A group of Celtic supporters called the Green Brigade unfurled a large banner in protest. In a statement, it said: "Our group and many within the Celtic support do not recognise the British Armed Forces as heroes, nor their role in many conflicts as one worthy of our remembrance". It gave Operation Banner (Northern Ireland), the Afghanistan War and the Iraq War as examples.

In November 2011, the English Football Association (FA) proposed that the England football team should wear poppies on their shirts in a match against Spain. However, FIFA turned down the proposal, claiming it would "open the door to similar initiatives" across the world, "jeopardising the neutrality of football". FIFA's decision was attacked by Prince William and British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said he would back any player who ignored the ban. Members of the English Defence League (EDL) held a protest on the roof of FIFA's headquarters in Zurich. Instead, the FA came up with other ways to mark Remembrance Day; for example, the England players would wear poppies before kickoff and black armbands during the match, there would be a minute's silence, a poppy wreath would be set on the pitch during the national anthems, poppies would be sold in the stadium and would be shown on the scoreboards and advertising boards. FIFA subsequently allowed the English, Scottish and Welsh teams to wear poppies on black armbands.

British Prime Minister David Cameron rejected a request from Chinese officials to remove his poppy during his visit to Beijing on Remembrance Day 2010. The poppy was deemed offensive because of its associations with the Anglo-Chinese Opium Wars in the 19th century, after which the Qing Dynasty was forced to tolerate the British opium trade in China and to cede Hong Kong to the UK.

A 2010 Remembrance Day ceremony in London was disrupted by members of Muslims Against Crusades, who were protesting against British Army actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. They burnt large poppies and chanted "British soldiers burn in hell" during the two-minute silence. Two of the men were arrested and charged for threatening behavior. One was convicted and made to pay a £50 fine. The same group planned to hold another protest in 2011 named Hell for Heroes, declaring that soldiers fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan deserve to go to hell. The group was banned by the Home Secretary the day before the planned protest.

In November 2011 a number of people were arrested in Coleraine, Northern Ireland after a picture of two youths burning a poppy was posted on Facebook. The picture was reported to the police by a member of the RBL.

In November 2012, during Remembrance Sunday, a young Canterbury man named Linford House, was arrested for allegedly posting a photograph of a burning poppy to Facebook; captioned with a seeming insult to soldiers, on suspicion of an offence under the Malicious Communications Act.

Well-known war-time journalist Robert Fisk published in November 2011 a personalized account about the shifting nature of wearing a poppy titled "Do those who flaunt the poppy on their lapels know that they mock the war dead?". "World Observer Online" published a similar story, written by "Assed Baig", in November 2012 titled "Why I Choose Not To Wear a Poppy".

In 2011 it was revealed that Kleshna, one of two businesses selling its own poppies on the RBL website, gives only 10% of its sales to charity. Kleshna sells crystal-clad poppy jewelry and its products have been worn by celebrities on television.