Understanding the poppy
It’s a symbol known internationally as remembrance for those fallen. But it’s more than a pin people attach to their lapels for a handful of weeks each year.
As the story goes, to poppy was first introduced to Canada and the Commonwelth by Lt.Col. John McCrae, a Guelph, Ont. Native and Canadian medical officer during the First World War.
McCrae is known for his famous poem “In Flanders Fields,” which he wrote in May 1915 on a scrap of paper, following the death of a fellow soldier.
McCrae’s 13-line poem was published in “Punch Magazine” in December of that year, and later served as inspiration three years later to Moina Michael, an American teacher.
A which point, Michael made a pledge to always wear a poppy as a sign on remembrance.
Then in 1920, a French woman named Madam Guerin, while on a trip to the U.S. learned of the custom.
She decided to sell poppies as a fundraiser for children in wartorn areas of France.
On July 5, 1921, the GWVA in Canada adopted the poppy as its Flower of Remembrance.
The poppy is still worn today, as a symbol of remembrance for fallen veterans. The campaign also acts as a major fundraiser for the legions across the country, which often act as main distributers of the red flower.