A Community Tribute

1. The remembrance poppy (a Papaver rhoeas) has been used since 1921 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. Inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields" (see below), they were first used to commemorate soldiers who died in that war (1914–1918).  On Remembrance Sunday every year we wear our poppies with pride at remembering those who fought for their country and often gave their lives. Two minutes silence is observed at 11am on the 11 November every year, the date and time which the Armistice was signed.

'In Flanders Fields':

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.

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/poems/john-mccrae-in-flanders-fields.htm

I've just found a really good Australian site which gives instructions to make various poppies - whether you'd like crocheted, knitted, sewed, felted or even embroidered - they've gathered together so many patterns to inspire us:
http://5000poppies.wordpress.com/poppy-patterns/


Also, here's a pattern supplied by Women's Weekly, which apparently Judi Dench loves: http://www.womansweekly.com/knitting-crochet/dame-judi-dench-loves-knitted-poppy/


To make a permanent poppy seems a great idea, in fact I'll probably make more than one because I usually find that, with several winter coats, the poppy is always on the one which I'm not wearing that day.  So now I can have one on each coat and go out feeling fully dressed!  

Although I now won't buy a poppy each year, it's still important to donate each November to the Royal British Legion, which currently spends over £1 million a week on its welfare activities: 
http://branches.britishlegion.org.uk/branches/copythorne/poppy-appeal/where-does-your-money-go 
and 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/the-big-question-why-are-we-asked-to-wear-a-poppy-and-is-its-significance-being-lost-1807573.html

No doubt nearly everyone has now heard of the 'sea of poppies' at the Tower of London.  The plan is to have on show one ceramic poppy (many of which were made here in Derby) for each person killed in the Great War (WWI).  This exhibition is proving very popular and is a moving way to illustrate to younger generations just how many gave their lives one hundred years ago in the name of freedom. See: https://poppies.hrp.org.uk/buy-a-poppy/