![]() ![]() ![]() The idea is that we can't, as a humanity, keep doing this," he added. "It's not completely anti-war but it stands for peace. The white poppy-standing for "never again" and a strong symbolism of peace in the world-became the dominant meaning and popular with many people today. The white poppy was a commemoration of the dead on both sides," he says. "The first instance of the white poppy dates back to the British-Russian Crimean War. However, according to Callaghan, the white poppy predates the red poppy. Therefore, the red poppy was first adopted by the British and then the Canadians. The surgeon, famously known as John McCrae, wrote the famous poem, "In Flanders Field", which became an iconic poem sung at memorial services in all commonwealth nations. The Remembrance Day symbolism of the red poppy started with a poem written by a World War I brigade surgeon as he was overwhelmed by the sight of red flowers-known as Flanders poppy or red poppy-growing on a decimated battlefield. Once the ethos of remembrance is refocused more people will again be able to wear a poppy in conscience, and hopefully the red flower of Flanders Field will once again serve as a pledge of peace.Meanwhile, others choose different colours to celebrate Remembrance Day-each carrying a different meaning. But until the government acknowledges this entire responsibility, poppies will still need to be sold to raise funds. This should be the responsibility of taxpayers. It should not be necessary for a charity to collect money to meet the medical and social needs of those who served in the military. It would be appropriate too if next year the annual Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall be held for the last time. Third, that at the end of the service a line of victims of war, such as injured service men, widows, displaced civilians and refugees files past the cenotaph in silence. That no troops formally line up in uniform, there is no martial music and no gun fired. Second, that a simple religious service be held following the two-minute silence. This would be on behalf of the nation and the commonwealth. I would suggest several changes to the central Cenotaph service, which could be reflected in local ceremonies.įirst, that only the Queen, and not politicians, should lay a wreath. This would need to be done with care so as not to offend those to whom the current traditions are meaningful, but at the same time refocus the solemn national recollection of, and gratitude towards, those who have died. Planning should now begin to use the occasion to revisit and revise the established customs of remembrance in Britain. In two years’ time the world will be marking the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war. Firstly that only the Queen, and certainly not the politicians, lays a wreath.’ Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA In an utterly unintended way the remembrance customs now serve to sanitise war and even to make the military option a respectable political option. Indeed all those who had ever worn a military uniform had become “heroes”, and the dead were described euphemistically as “having fallen”. To many people it had become a patriotic duty to wear one, a symbol of pride in the sacrifices of the armed services. Over the decades, as the memory of both wars began to fade, the the poppy began to take on a subtle new meaning. When remembrance customs continued after 1945, they were little changed – except that on the war memorials up and down the country, a new list of names had been added. Another generation signed up, though this time reluctantly, knowing they had to defeat an unprecedented evil, unleashed by the unresolved issues of the first world war that was spreading across Europe. By the 1930s, those alarmed at the militarism that had become associated with the Cenotaph rituals started wearing white poppies to reinforce the peace pledge. The poppy represented mourning and regret, and served as a pledge that war must never happen again.Īrguably this original meaning became subverted. When the poppy was first adopted as the symbol of remembrance it was shortly after the end of the first world war, when almost every family in the land still felt the raw grief of the time. ![]()
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