 | The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United Kingdom and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject.(November 2023) |
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.
In 1926, a few years after the introduction of the red poppy in the UK, the idea of pacifists making their own poppies was put forward by a member of the No More War Movement (as well as the proposal that the black centre of the British Legion's red poppies should be imprinted with "No More War"). [1] [2] Their intention was to remember casualties of all wars, with the added meaning of a hope for the end of all wars; the red poppy signified only the British military dead. [3] However, they did not pursue the idea. [1] The first white poppies were sold by the Co-operative Women's Guild in 1933. [4] The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) [5] took part in their distribution from 1936, and white poppy wreaths were laid from 1937 as a pledge to peace that war must not happen again. [1] [6] Anti-war organisations such as the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship now support the White Poppy Movement. [2]
Those who promote the wearing of white poppies argue that the red poppy also conveys a specific political standpoint, and point to the divisive nature of the red poppy in Northern Ireland, where it is worn mainly by unionists but boycotted by Irish republicans. [7]
Sales of white poppies steadily rose throughout the 2010s, often causing supporters of the PPU to become targets of abuse. On 1 November 2018 sales of white poppies were higher than in any previous year since white poppies were founded in 1933. As of 7 November 2018, 119,555 white poppies had been sold. The final figure was 122,385. The previous record was 110,000 white poppies in 2015. Until 2014, the record was around 80,000 in 1938. [8] [9] [10]
In 2018, St John Ambulance in England allowed its volunteers to wear white poppies for the first time. [11] [12]
Those who endorse the white poppy campaign include actor Mark Rylance, [13] poet Benjamin Zephaniah [14] and rapper Lowkey. [15] [ better source needed ]
Children's author Michael Morpurgo described his decision to wear a white poppy alongside his red one in a Radio Times article:
In New Zealand, a White Poppy Annual Appeal has been run since 2009 by Peace Movement Aotearoa in the week preceding Anzac Day, with all proceeds going to White Poppy Peace Scholarships . [17] The appeal was controversial for some, with Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins describing the white poppy appeal as "incredibly disrespectful to those who served their country". [18]
White poppies have also been worn in New Zealand to mark Remembrance Day. In previous years, the annual white poppy appeal was run as a fundraiser for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament around the time of Hiroshima Day in August. Responsibility for organising the annual appeal was transferred to Peace Movement Aotearoa, as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in New Zealand closed down in 2008. [17]
The Royal British Legion has no official opinion on the wearing of white poppies, stating that it "is a matter of choice, the Legion doesn't have a problem whether you wear a red one or a white one, both or none at all", [19] and that it defends the right to wear different poppies. [20] Opponents [21] of the white poppy argue that the traditional red poppy already encompasses the sentiments claimed for the white poppy, such as "remembering all victims of war", and consider that it undermines the message of remembrance. Some Irish nationalists "see the poppy as representing the army that denied them independence in the 1920s and that returned in the late 1960s, bringing with it such events as Bloody Sunday." [22] In the 1930s, when the white poppy was first established, some women lost their jobs for wearing them. [23] Others are concerned that the money raised by the white poppy appeal may affect the funds raised for the Royal British Legion by the red poppy appeal. [24]
In 1986, John Baker, Bishop of Salisbury, stated in his diocesan newsletter that he had been asked about the appropriateness of the white poppy. Baker responded "let's not be hurt if we see a white poppy...there is plenty of space for red and white to bloom side by side." [25] Salisbury MP Robert Key disagreed, and later that year asked British prime minister Margaret Thatcher her opinion on the issue. Thatcher expressed her "deep distaste" for the symbol during prime minister's questions. [26] In response, the White Poppy campaign received much media coverage in Britain. [25] The Daily Star ran several articles criticising the White Poppy campaign. [25] In The Guardian , artist Steve Bell published a cartoon satirising Thatcher's opposition to white poppies, which he allowed the Peace Pledge Union to republish. [25]
In November 2014, white poppy wreaths on the Aberystwyth War Memorial had to be replaced after they were removed from the Memorial and thrown in a bin. [27] There were similar reports of a white poppy wreath being removed from war memorials in Bath in 2018. [28]
In 2018, UK Conservative MP Johnny Mercer tweeted that he thought white poppies were "attention seeking rubbish". [20] Mercer's comments led to widespread media debate around the appropriateness of white poppies, with the Peace Pledge Union later crediting Mercer's comments as being responsible for the record level of sales that year. [10] Mercer repeated these views in 2019, after being appointed as Minister for Defence People and Veterans in Boris Johnson's government, accusing white poppy wearers of “hijacking symbolism for their own ends”. [29] His comments led to an open letter from multiple military veterans and the organisations that support calling on Mercer to apologise for his comments, and instead "spend energy on addressing homelessness and mental health among ex-servicemen and women". [29]
In 2022 Scottish National Party politician, Michelle Thomson MSP, sparked controversy over wearing a homemade white poppy with a "Yes!" logo in the centre. Critics accused Thomson of being “tacky and tasteless” by using a commemorative poppy to campaign for Scottish independence. Thomson claimed that she had used the "Yes!" pin to secure the poppy to her lapel after her poppy "fell apart over the weekend", and that she had not intended to cause any offence. [30] [31]
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).
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.
A wreath is an assortment of flowers, leaves, fruits, twigs, or various materials that is constructed to form a ring shape.
A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a Dove lithograph by Pablo Picasso after World War II. In the 1950s the "peace sign", as it is known today, was designed by Gerald Holtom as the logo for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), a group at the forefront of the peace movement in the UK, and adopted by anti-war and counterculture activists in the US and elsewhere. The symbol is a superposition of the semaphore signals for the letters "N" and "D", taken to stand for "nuclear disarmament", while simultaneously acting as a reference to Goya's The Third of May 1808 (1814).
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 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.
The Haig Fund is a charity set up in 1921 by Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig.
The Peace Pledge Union (PPU) is a non-governmental organisation that promotes pacifism, based in the United Kingdom. Its members are signatories to the following pledge: "War is a crime against humanity. I renounce war, and am therefore determined not to support any kind of war. I am also determined to work for the removal of all causes of war", and campaign to promote peaceful and nonviolent solutions to conflict. The PPU forms the British section of War Resisters' International.
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.
No Greater Love (NGL) is an American humanitarian, non-profit organization founded in 1971 by Carmella Laspada and is dedicated to providing programs such as wreath-layings, remembrance tributes, and memorial dedications, for those who have lost a loved one in the service to the country or by an act of terrorism. To date, NGL has dedicated 11 memorials located in Arlington National Cemetery and sponsors numerous other programs. The name is derived from the verse John 15:13 from the Bible.
Moina Belle Michael was an American professor and humanitarian who conceived the idea of using poppies as a symbol of remembrance for those who served in World War I.
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 purple poppy is a symbol of remembrance in the United Kingdom for animals that served during wartime. The symbol was created in 2006 based on the principle of the traditional red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day.
The Gibraltar Cross of Sacrifice is a war memorial in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. It is located west of North Front Cemetery, at the junction of Winston Churchill Avenue and Devil's Tower Road. The Cross of Sacrifice was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield in 1917, and his monument is found in numerous Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries. The cross in Gibraltar was erected by the Royal Engineers for the commission, and unveiled on Armistice Day 1922. The British Pathé film recorded at the dedication ceremony that day represents the first motion picture made in Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Cross of Sacrifice served as the focus of Remembrance Sunday ceremonies in Gibraltar until 2009, at which time the location was changed to the Gibraltar War Memorial.
A remembrance cross is a small wooden cross used to remember the sacrifice of the armed forces in the United Kingdom, particularly during Remembrancetide, the period of the annual Poppy Appeal. Remembrance crosses are produced by the Poppy Factory in Richmond and Lady Haig's Poppy Factory in Edinburgh, which also produce remembrance poppies and wreaths. A remembrance cross is usually decorated with a remembrance poppy and the phrase "Remembrance" or "In Remembrance",
London Poppy Day is an annual event organised by the Royal British Legion which aims to raise £1million for its Poppy Appeal. Launched in 2006, the event takes place in London on the first Thursday of November, shortly before the United Kingdom observes Remembrance Sunday, and is one of several similar events held in cities around the United Kingdom. The day sees volunteers and armed forces veterans selling poppy merchandise to raise funds at venues such as railway stations, on the London Underground, and in offices, as well as entertainment provided by military bands.
Rise above the wars / The folly of endless fight, / Let's try making love, / Let's make our poppies white.
Hip Hop artist Lowkey is wearing a white poppy
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