Friday, 4 November 2016

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day

 

The first World War ended in 1918 ...on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Civilians wanted to remember the people who had given their lives for peace and freedom. An American War Secretary, Moina Michael, inspired by John McCrae's poem, began selling poppies to friends to raise money for the ex-Service community. And so the tradition began.

 

 

In Flanders' Fields by John McCrae, 1915

 

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.

We are the dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders' fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high,

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders' Fields.

 

 

The first official Legion Poppy Day was held in Britain on 11 November 1921, inspired by the poem In Flanders' Fields written by John McCrae. Since then the Poppy Appeal has been a key annual event in the nation's calendar.

 

Some of the bloodiest fighting of World War One took place in the Flanders and Picardy regions of Belgium and Northern France. The poppy was the only thing which grew in the aftermath of the complete devastation. McCrae, a doctor serving there with the Canadian Armed Forces, deeply inspired and moved by what he saw, wrote the verses written above.

 

 

<a href='http://www.britishlegion.org.uk' target="_blank">The Royal British Legion</a>  is a charity that supports the serving and ex-Service community, and their families, as well as being one of the country's largest membership organisations. We are probably best-known for our role as the nation's custodian of Remembrance and for the Poppy Appeal which we organise annually

 

Poppy Support is the new name for all our welfare services. It is split into six categories: Poppy Advice, Poppy Funds, Poppy Breaks, Poppy Homes, Poppy Travel and Poppy People. Nearly 10.5 million people in the UK are eligible for our help, so if you or someone you know is serving, ex-Service or a dependant and in need, please call Legion online on 08457 725 725. We'd like to be able to help.

 

Show Your Support

There are many ways to support <a href='http://www.poppy.org.uk'/a>The Poppy Appeal </a> either individually or as a company. And now you can show your support digitally - by email, on your mobile and on <a href='http://apps.facebook.com/login.php'>Facebook</a> or call the Supporters helpline on 0845 854 1945

Charlie and Harry at the Remembrance service 

Posted by David Martin on Friday, 4 November 2016 01:21