Remembrance Day · 3:44pm Nov 11th, 2020
On this day, 102 years ago, the Great War ended. Soldiers from across the world were sent to fight, and die in the trenches of France and Belgium. Many of their bodies still lie in the fields where they died. At the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in the year 1918, the war ended in accordance with an armistice that was signed earlier that morning.
At the time, they called it "the war to end all wars". How wrong they were.
To commemorate the end of World War I, and the ends of all wars before or since, we wear the poppy. This small, red piece of paper or plastic, represents the blood of those fallen. The symbolism of the red poppy dates back to time immemorial, but its use for Remembrance was inspired by a poem by then-Major John McCrae, medical officer of the 1st Canadian Field Artillery, called In Flanders Fields. He wrote it after a close friend of his was killed in the Second Battle of Ypres, who he buried shortly after the battle ended.
The poppy, considered a wildflower at the time, grew and bloomed easily around the battlefield graves. In Flanders Fields went on to be published in newspapers across the world, becoming McCrae's legacy. He would not live to see the end of the war, dying of pneumonia on January 28th, 1918. The first person to wear a poppy was by American professor Moina Michael, who wore one year round, selling silk poppies to raise funds for disabled veterans, which lead to the poppy being adopted as a symbol of Remembrance by the American Legion Auxuliary in 1921. Shortly after, it was also adopted by what is now the Royal British Legion, and remains a tradition to this day.
On behalf of the Royal Legion, I encourage you to participate in two minutes of silence at 11:00, and to reflect on the sacrifices of ordinary people who served willingly.
