The poppy: you know why, but do you know how?

David Buckley

Are you aware of the part Bermondsey plays in the poppy story?

 

Image by enriquelopezgarre from Pixabay

 

Ask any adult why the poppy is used as a symbol of remembrance and most will have reasonable idea of its significance. But when it comes to the history of who came up with the idea I believe you will encounter some blank stares.

 

I didn’t realise who was behind the poppy emblem we now instantly recognise and, had you asked me, I would have said I thought it was the idea of a Brit.

 

No arrogance, it just feels a very British thing. But, I would be wrong. It was actually the idea of an American woman. And it wasn’t until a few years after she had the inspiration that war veterans were taken on in Bermondsey to produce the poppy badges. Borough High Street is still the HQ of the Royal British Legion although production of the poppies has now moved to Aylesford Village near Maidstone in Kent.

 

The iconic poppy badge: a history

In a time of incredible destruction, Flanders Fields was a battleground in Belgium during the 1914-18 World War I conflict. It was an area tarnished by some of the most devastating battles, a million soldiers were wounded or lost their lives there from more than 50 different countries.

 

It was a Canadian surgeon, John McCrae, who created the iconic war poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ in 1915 after noticing a marvel in nature. Thousands of scarlet poppies bloomed in the war-torn area. Interestingly, poppies are one of the few flowers the that blossom naturally when the earth is ruined. A beautiful red flower flourishing among such tragic events didn’t go unnoticed.

 

McCrae wrote:

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.

 

Full story: https://londoninspire.co.uk/the-poppy-you-know-why-but-do-you-know-how/

 

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It was started by a French woman Madam Geurin in the form of silk hand made red poppies. The Americans came late to the project just as they came late to 'the big one'.

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