Way back in 1921 The Royal British Legion adopted the Poppy as their symbol of Remembrance,
yeah? But the story behind it goes far deeper. Before the First World War there
were hardly any poppies growing in Flanders and northern France, it was not until late 1914.
The First World War created prime conditions for poppies to flourish,
continual bombardment disturbed the soil and brought dormant seeds to the surface.
They were fertilized by nitrogen in the explosives and lime from the shattered rubble
of buildings and of course the remains of men and animals that were buried on the battlefield.
It was a French woman named Anna Guerin who became inspired by the war poem by the Canadian officer
John McCrae, 'In Flanders Fields' and of course it mentions that poppies grow, row upon row.
Anna was an experience fundraiser and came up with the idea of making poppies as a way of
raising funds for war orphans and for people who had suffered greatly because of the devastation
caused by the First World War. She in fact became known as the Poppy Lady from France. After Anna's
initial success with her poppy campaign in the United States and Canada, in September
1921 she came over to England for a meeting with the newly formed Royal British Legion who
immediately ordered 1 million of her poppies for the upcoming Armistice Day on 11th November 1921.
The original poppies were really quite simple. They were a piece of red fabric with a green stalk
and they also had a little banner attached to them, telling you what the actual poppy was for.
In October 1921, Earl Haig announced that they were changing the name of Armistice Day
to Remembrance Day and the British Legion ordered an extra 8 million poppies to be
sold. The campaign was immediate success and 9 million poppies were sold by November 11th.
The following year the poppies were being manufactured by a handful of disabled men,
but within 10 years, 350 disabled veterans of the First World War were manufacturing the poppies in
London, in what became known as the Poppy Factory. Veterans wounded in more recent conflicts continue
to make poppies to this very day. I myself, have actually made many, many poppies when I
was convalescing in a combat stress hospital. You know recently, just the other day, I was
asked by a student "How do we support veterans on Remembrance Day?" I had to have a think about that
and then I remembered something that had happened to me on the Somme battlefield many years ago. I
was there in uniform, in World War One uniform, helping the British Legion educate people as to
what went on at the battle of the Somme. So I did what I had to do, and retired to the town
of Arras, and I'm sat in the square there, where many a British soldier had stood and sat, having
some lunch when a coach load of old men pulled up in front of me. These were the last surviving
members of the battle of the Somme and they'd seen me in the gear. They want to meet me. Well
I was reluctant at first but they persuaded me, and on the coach I went, and in no time at all,
the banter. I introduced myself. They figured out straightaway that I'm a veteran in my own right.
When I was in the army, that's the story and oh did we talk and we laughed, but these guys are 98,
99, 100 years of age. And one of them at the end stood up, and you could see he had part of his ear
had been shot away and it still gave him grief you know. Anyway he came up to me and he said,
thank you so much. He shook my hand and he says thank you, we'd hate all of us to die soon and
nobody remember us. And that's what I said to the student, on Remembrance Day, remember us.
Now don't forget poppy sales raise vital funds for those still serving and ex-serving members
of the Armed Forces community and of course their families,
so the next time you buy yourself a poppy, wear it with pride and on Remembrance Day, remember us.