Everybody who was born or raised in Britain is used to the annual appearance of Remembrance Day Poppies and their huge significance. During the fighting in Flandes in the First World War, one flower that still bloomed in those vile conditions was the poppy. A fact which was recorded in one of the most famous poems inspired by the horrors of the war: "In Flanders Fields", written by a Canadian officer and physician called John McCrae in May 1915. It is one of the most popular and most quoted poems about war.
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.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
After World War II, Remembrance Day was recognized as a day of tribute to the veterans and dead of that conflict as well.The poem continued on inspiring others and this is how the poem came to the attention of an American proffesor, Moina Michael who worked effortlessly to provide financial support to disable servicemen and their families by selling silk red poppies. By 1921, she began to wear a red poppy to honour the soldiers who died in conflict. The practise quickly spread throughout the British Empire and the poem and the poppy became important Remembrance Day symbols in the Commonwealth of Nations. Now artificial poppies are sold in honour the brave men and women who serve in the military.
Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November and special services are celebrated at War Memorials and churches all over Britain. A national ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London.
