“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.” — John McCrae
The poppy is one of the most recognizable symbols of remembrance.
“There’s not one person that doesn’t know what it’s about,” said Tammy Paglia of the Royal Canadian Legion in Bradford West Gwillimbury.
This is thanks in large part to the annual poppy campaign and education programs at legions across Canada.
“We go into the schools and teach them … about remembrance,” said Paglia.
This year’s poppy campaign will launch Oct. 26 — with boxes of the felt poppies ready to be distributed to retail stores, and volunteers signing up to accept donations at locations that include Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, Home Depot, Walmart and the Beer Store in Bradford.
The red cloth poppies have represented remembrance since 1918, inspired by McCrae’s battlefield poem.
Two days before the armistice was declared, marking the end of the First World War, American teacher Moina Belle Michael read the poem and was inspired.
She vowed to always wear a red poppy, wrote the poem We Shall Keep the Faith, and devoted the rest of her life to the poppy cause, according to the Robinson Library.
By the time of her death in 1944, about $200 million had been raised for the rehabilitation of war veterans in the U.S. and England.
In 1921, Great War Veterans’ Association of Canada — later to become the Royal Canadian Legion — made the poppy a national flower of remembrance.
Funds raised by the poppy campaign now go to assist veterans and their families, support local hospitals and the medical needs of veterans, grants to help veterans and their families meet needs such as emergency shelter and home repairs, educational bursaries for the children and grandchildren of veterans, and cadet programs.
“It’s mostly for youth and veterans,” including the Leave the Streets Behind program for homeless veterans, and service dogs for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, said Paglia.
“It also pays for the veterans’ dinners,” allowing veterans to eat for free at the annual Remembrance Dinner, held this year on Nov. 10, said Paglia.
“I think it’s very important to give back to the men and women who served, to give us the kind of life we have,” said Legionnaire Matthew Walker. “If anyone can afford to go to Tim Hortons and get a coffee, they can afford to put $1 in the box for a poppy.”
