Rememberance

I have an ambivalent reaction to the image of the poppy.

My grandad on my father’s side was killed early in the Second World War when his ship, HMS Courageous (a poorly armed, cobbled together aircraft carrier) was sunk by U-29 in September 1939. I always think of him at this time of year - a man I never met, but whose loss cast a very long shadow over my dad.

My grandma re-married, though, and my step grandad who was a bit older had fought in the First World War, having lied about his age, and he REALLY hated General Haig. Given that the poppies had Haig Fund written on them, he was quite vocally opposed to the whole concept.

That has stuck with me, so even though I know the money goes to a good cause, and I always buy one, I don’t normally wear it. I also have an issue with the bullying behaviour, where anyone in public life who isn’t wearing one from late October onwards is thrown to the cyber mob to be politically re-educated. It seems to me that honouring people who sacrificed their lives for freedom by insisting on conformity is missing the point.

And yet a display like this still really moves me.