Poppies of Different Colours for Remembrance

The red poppy most usually worn around the commemoration of Armistice Day has been used since 1921. It symbolises the military personnel who have died in war.

In Flanders Fields was a poem written by Canadian WW1 surgeon Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

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.

Nowadays you may see people wearing different colours of poppies symbolising the wider effects of war.

White poppies have been worn since 1933.  They are worn to remember all victims of war, a commitment to peace and a challenge to attempts to glamorise or celebrate war. They are distributed by the Peace Pledge Union (PPU).

Black poppies are a newer addition and are worn to commemorate all those who have died due to imperialist war and its legacy: dead soldiers, dead civilians and dead conscientious objectors.

Purple poppies honour all the horses who died in serving the human madness that was World War 1.

Reporter: Fiona Grahame

---