Why everyone’s talking about... Poppies

WE’RE commemorating the war dead today, but the Royal British Legion is millions of pounds short of its annual target after street fundraising was cancelled for the first time in its 99-year history because of the coronavirus. So how did poppies become the symbol of Remembrance Sunday?

As the First World War ravaged Europe, the poppy symbol was immortalised when Canadian army doctor John McCrae composed the poem In Flanders Fields in 1915 after a friend was killed at Ypres.

Noting the vivid red petals among the graves, he wrote: ‘In Flanders’ fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row.’ The verse was published in Punch magazine.

And how did it make the leap to people’s lapels?

The poppy became the emblem for the American-Franco Children’s League, which helped children orphaned by the war. Its idea of selling paper versions was embraced by veterans’ charities and Commander-in-Chief Earl Haig, leader of the British forces, was persuaded to adopt it for the British Legion in 1921.

Where are they made?

At the Poppy Factory in Richmond, South-West London, set up in 1922. A team of 24 injured service personnel make about four million a year, plus a million wreaths and crosses. The leaf was first offered as an optional extra in the 1960s and became part of the standard design in 1995. There is no right or wrong side to wear it, other than, says the British Legion, ‘to wear it with pride’. However, some insist it should be worn on the left, above the heart, showing that those who died are close to us. Others believe the leaf should point to the 11 o’clock position to symbolise the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, when the Great War ended.

How successful are they?

Last year the Poppy Appeal raised more than £50million for veterans, but with tin-rattling cancelled during lockdown, donations are being solicited via the British Legion website. For most people, poppies are a poignant reminder of the sacrifice of our Armed Forces.

Incidentally, last year, ‘Poppy’ was the 17th most popular name for newborn girls. And in 2014 there was the hugely popular Tower of London installation, when 888,246 ceramic poppies filled the moat, one for each British Empire soldier killed in the First World War, lest we forget.