Rememberance Poppies

Remembrance Poppies

Poppies are forever linked with Anzac Day, dating back to the WW1. They are a worldwide symbol of remembrance for the men and women who have died serving their country. Poppies made of light cloth or paper are also woven together to form wreaths which are laid at war memorials up and down the country. The poppies are a reminder of the sacrifice - the lives lost - in war.

The red or Flanders poppy was one of the first to grow and bloom in the mud and soil of Flanders. They were made famous by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae in his poem 'In Flanders fields'. McCrae was a Canadian medical officer who, in May 1915, had conducted the funeral service of a friend.  In a cemetery nearby, red poppies blew gently in the breeze. He saw this as a symbol of regrowth in a landscape of blood and destruction. He was upset at the death and suffering around him and wrote the verse in his notebook. Someone sent his words anonymously to the English magazine, Punch, which published them under the title 'In Flanders Fields' on 8 December 1915.                                                                                         

In Flanders fields the poppies grow

  Between the crosses, row on row.

That mark our place; and in the sky

The Larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard among 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 our quarrel with the foe

To you from falling hands we throw,

The torch be yours to hold up high.

If ye break faith with us who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow,

In Flanders Fields

Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

1. Where is Flanders Field? Flanders field is in a country called Belgium. ✓
2. What grows in Flanders field? The red poppies grow in Flanders field, and represent how nature regrow. ✓
3. “To you from failing hands we throw”.  Who do the falling hands represent and what have they thrown? The failing hands represent how some of the soldiers never make it back alive, and they have thrown a torch. ✓
4. “If ye break faith with us who die..”  What does the writer mean by ‘break faith’? Break faith means a lot of people are breaking faith and are disrespecting them. ✓

5. Click on the link below to help you answer these questions:

http://www.greatwar.co.uk/article/remembrance-poppy.htm#inspiration

• Who created the remembrance poppy?

The person that created the

remembrance was Moina

Michelle. ✓

• Why was it created?

The red poppy remembrance was created to remember all the men that had fought for us in the war.  ✓

• How was it made?

Poppy are made of light red cloth and they were made to get more money fundraised.   ✓

• When was it made?

It was made

• Where was it made?

The first poppy was made in the U.S and used light cloth.  ✓