Three remembrance poppies.

The red poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day, November 11th. The use of the poppy was inspired by the World War I poem In Flanders Fields. The poem was written by the Canadian doctor Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae witnessing the death of his friend, a fellow soldier, on May 2 1915. The opening lines refer to the many poppies that were the first flowers to appear in the churned-up earth of the battlefields of Flanders.

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.



The poppy painted on a shard from a broken rum jar commemorates the Battle of Delville Wood 14 July-3 September, an engagement in the 1916 Battle of the Somme in the First World War. The battle is of particular importance to South Africa, as it was the first major engagement entered into by the South African 1st Infantry Brigade on the Western Front. The casualties sustained by this Brigade were of catastrophic proportions, comparable to those encountered by Allied battalions on the first day of the Somme. On the Western Front, units were normally considered to be incapable of combat if their casualties had reached 30% and they were withdrawn once this level had been attained. The South African Brigade suffered losses of 80%, yet they managed to hold the Wood as ordered.

The other poppies are just 2 of the many thousands that are sold each year in the run up to Remembrance Day in support of veterans of the armed forces. The poppy with 4 petals is from Scotland and sold by the Earl Haig Fund, the one with 2 petals is from England and sold by the Royal British Legion. The Earl Haig Fund, trading as poppyscotland, is a Scottish charity for veterans of the British Armed Forces and their dependants. It was founded in 1921 by Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig. The fund merged with The Royal British Legion in 2011 but operates as a distinct charity within the Legion.