The purple poppy is a symbol of remembrance in the United Kingdom for animals that served during wartime. [1] The symbol was created in 2006 based on the principle of the traditional red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day. [1]
In contemporary service, most animals in United Kingdom military service are military working dogs, particularly in the 1st Military Working Dog Regiment. Historically the greatest number of animal casualties in conflict have been horses and ponies.
The purple poppy was created in 2006 by the charity Animal Aid as a way to commemorate animals which served during conflicts as the charity viewed that they had been the forgotten victims of war. [1] Approximately eight million horses and donkeys died during the First World War. [2] It was created to be worn alongside red or white poppies. [1] Animal Aid continued to sell the purple poppy with proceeds going to them until 2015 when they replaced the symbol with an enamel purple paw badge as they felt it was being misinterpreted — the animals are not "heroes" but victims. [3] [4] The purple poppy symbol was subsequently picked up by the Murphy's Army charity in 2016 and continues to be sold by them. Their campaign not only remembers animals lost in service but pays tribute to those who serve today working alongside the Emergency Services, in the Military, Prisons and Border Forces [5] [6] [7]
There is a specified purple poppy day in addition to Remembrance Day on 11 November where purple poppies would be worn. The date is movable, however. In 2018, in order to coincide with 100 years since the end of the First World War, 23 August was chosen as purple poppy day to coincide with the Battle of Mons. This was the date of the first battle between British and German forces during the First World War. [8]
The purple poppy was not endorsed by The Royal British Legion, which sells the official red remembrance poppies. [1] However they did state: "We see no conflict in wearing the red poppy next to the purple or white poppy. Many animal rights supporters also support our work. We do ask that the items are not offered alongside each other however as this would confuse the public." [1] Some towns have included purple poppies alongside red ones in official Remembrance displays. [9]
Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. The day is also marked by war remembrances in several other non-Commonwealth countries. In most countries, Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of First World War hostilities. Hostilities ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918, in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. The First World War formally ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
"In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres. According to legend, fellow soldiers retrieved the poem after McCrae, initially dissatisfied with his work, discarded it. "In Flanders Fields" was first published on December 8 of that year in the London magazine Punch. Flanders Fields is a common English name of the World War I battlefields in Belgium and France.
Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, at 5:45 am for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at 11:00 am—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918 although, according to Thomas R. Gowenlock, an intelligence officer with the U.S. First Division, shelling from both sides continued for the rest of the day, ending only at nightfall. The armistice initially expired after a period of 36 days and had to be extended several times. A formal peace agreement was reached only when the Treaty of Versailles was signed the following year.
A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the source of the narcotic drug mixture opium which contains powerful medicinal alkaloids such as morphine and has been used since ancient times as an analgesic and narcotic medicinal and recreational drug. It also produces edible seeds. Following the trench warfare in the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium during World War I, poppies have become a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during wartime, especially in the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other Commonwealth realms.
Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is held on the second Sunday in November. Remembrance Sunday, within the Church of England, falls in the liturgical period of Allsaintstide.
Papaver rhoeas, with common names including common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, and red poppy, is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is a temperate native with a very wide distribution area, from Africa to temperate and tropical Asia and Europe.
The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members includes people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cadets and direct relatives.
The PDSA Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 in the United Kingdom by Maria Dickin to honour the work of animals in World War II. It is a bronze medallion, bearing the words "For Gallantry" and "We Also Serve" within a laurel wreath, carried on a ribbon of striped green, dark brown, and pale blue. It is awarded to animals that have displayed "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units". The award is commonly referred to as "the animals' Victoria Cross".
The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in need.
Awareness ribbons are symbols meant to show support or raise consciousness for a cause. Different colors and patterns are associated with different issues.
The Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC), known as the Army Veterinary Corps (AVC) until it gained the royal prefix on 27 November 1918, is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and care of animals. They are also responsible for explosives and drug search dogs. It is a small corps, forming part of the Army Medical Services.
The People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) is a veterinary charity in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1917 by Maria Dickin to provide care for sick and injured animals of the poor. It is the UK's leading veterinary charity, carrying out more than one million free veterinary consultations a year, and was until 2009 the largest private employer of fully qualified veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses in the UK; only those living within the PDSA's catchment areas can use their services.
The white poppy is a flower used as a symbol of peace, worn either in place of or in addition to the red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day or Anzac Day.
A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to give financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the armed forces.
Chips (1940–1946) was a trained sentry dog for United States Army, and reputedly the most decorated war dog from World War II. Chips was a German Shepherd-Collie-Malamute mix owned by Edward J. Wren of Pleasantville, New York. He was bred by C.C. Moore, and was the son of Margot Jute, a half collie, half German shepherd, and Husky, a malamute.
The Animals in War Memorial is a war memorial, in Hyde Park, London, commemorating the countless animals that have served and died under British military command throughout history. It was designed by English sculptor David Backhouse and unveiled in November 2004 by Anne, Princess Royal.
The Poppy Factory is a factory in Richmond, London, England, where remembrance wreaths are made. It was founded in 1922 to offer employment opportunities to wounded soldiers returning from the First World War, creating remembrance poppies and wreaths for the Royal Family and the Royal British Legion's annual Poppy Appeal. It is operated by a company that is a registered charity which provides employment support to veterans with health conditions across England and Wales. The factory's production team continues to make remembrance wreaths by hand today.
The First World War centenary was the four-year period marking the centenary of the First World War, which began on 28 July 2014 with a series of commemorations of the outbreak of the war organised across the continent of Europe, and ended with the centenary of the 1918 Armistice on 11 November 2018.
Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red was a public art installation created in the moat of the Tower of London, England, between July and November 2014. It commemorated the centenary of the outbreak of World War I and consisted of 888,246 ceramic red poppies, each intended to represent one British or Colonial serviceman killed in the War. The ceramic artist was Paul Cummins, with conceptual design by the stage designer Tom Piper. The work's title was taken from the first line of a poem by an unknown soldier in World War I.
Lucca was a German Shepherd/Belgian Malinois service dog who was employed by the United States Marine Corps for 6 years. She was trained to detect explosives. She was deployed twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. In her over 400 missions, no human fatalities occurred under her watch. In 2012, while on patrol in Afghanistan, she was injured by an IED blast, necessitating the amputation of her left leg. After recovering at Camp Pendleton, Lucca officially retired in 2012 and was adopted by her original handler, Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham.
