How the poppy became the symbol of Remembrance Day.......................

The entrance to St Helens Church, Witton, Northwich

There was an attempt by footballs governing body Fifa to stop the English team wearing poppies during this weekends international match with Spain.

Fifa have since relented and the poppy will be worn by the players on armbands.

 How did the poppy became the symbol of remembrance?

It started with a Canadian writing a poem and an American inspired by its words starting to wear a poppy in honour of fallen soldiers.

  The poem "In Flanders Fields" describes the first sign of life after death - small red plants that grew on the graves of soldiers buried in northern France and Belgium during World War I.

Canadian physician and Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae is popularly believed to have written it on the 3rd of  May 1915 after witnessing the death of his friend (a fellow soldier) the day before.

The poem was first published on 8 December 1915 in the London based magazine Punch.

Click on the link for the poem and a bit more information.
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm

American humanitarian Moina Michael started to wear and distribute poppies in honour of fallen soldiers. Two days before the armistice agreement was signed Ms Michael bought and then pinned a red poppy to her coat. She gave other poppies out to ex-servicemen at the YMCA headquarters in New York where she worked.

The poppy was officially adopted by the American Legion at a conference two years later.

At the same conference a French woman named Madame E Guerin saw an opportunity for orphans and widows to raise money in France by selling the poppies.

Since then, they have become an international symbol of remembering fallen soldiers.

The British Legion in the UK adopted the poppy in 1921.
It's now the Royal British Legion and they raised an amazing £36 million in 2010 for their charities.

Northwich War Memorial

As a young Sea Cadet (13) in my home town of Northwich I marched through the town along with my fellow crew mates and  the local Army and Air Cadets.

We assembled at the Memorial Hall and marched to Witton Church for the memorial service.

I had been chosen to stand guard on one corner of the War Memorial (above) during the outdoor service.

I was so proud.
The Poppy is a lovely flower to use to commemorate our fallen heroes.
We have John McCrae, Moina Michael and Madame Guerin to thank for that.

Skywatch Friday
http://skyley.blogspot.com/2011/11/skywatch-friday-season-5-episode-18.html