The Story of the Flanders Fields Remembrance Day Poppy The Story Behind the Remembrance Poppy Field poppies growing near Connaught British Military cemetery on the old Western Front battlefields. This is the story of how the red field poppy came to be known as an internationally recognized symbol of Remembrance. From its association with poppies flowering in the spring of 1915 on the battlefields of Belgium, France and Gallipoli this vivid red flower has become synonymous with great loss of life in war. Yet the scope of the poppy and its connection with the memory of those who have died in war has been expanded to help the living too. It was the inspiration and dedication of two women who promoted this same “Memorial Flower” as the means by which funds could be raised to support those in need of help, most especially servicemen and civilians suffering from physical and mental hardship as a result of war. Colour and Life in a Devastated Landscape German soldiers carrying ladders through trenches in a smashed up wood on the Ypres Salient battlefield, 1915. In the fighting zones the devastation caused to the landscape created a wasteland of churned up soil, smashed up woods, fields and streams.

Few elements of the natural world could survive except for the soldiers who had little choice but to live in an underground network of holes, tunnels and trenches. In most cases the only living things they would see during tours of duty in the front line were scavenging rats, mice and lice. James McConnell was an American pilot who had volunteered to fight in the war and was flying with the French Escadrille Lafayette. He recorded a vivid description of the destroyed landscape below him as he flew over the 1916 battlefield of Verdun. He describes the front line as a “brown belt, a strip of murdered Nature”: “Immediately east and north of Verdun there lies a broad, brown band ... Peaceful fields and farms and villages adorned that landscape a few months ago - when there was no Battle of Verdun. Now there is only that sinister brown belt, a strip of murdered Nature. it seems to belong to another world. Every sign of humanity has been swept away. The woods and roads have vanished like chalk wiped from a blackboard; of the villages nothing remains but gray smears where stone walls have tumbled together... On the brown band the indentations are so closely interlocked that they blend into a confused mass of troubled earth.

Of the trenches only broken, half-obliterated links are visible.” (1) However, sometimes the sights and sounds of nature could be seen and heard through the fog of battle. Soldiers spoke of how birds, and most particularly the lark, could be heard twittering high in the sky even during the fury of an artillery bombardment. New Life on the Battlefields Poppies growing on the Somme battlefield near Thiepval in France. Against the odds, new life did also occasionally come into being in the battle zones. A story about the birth of new human life happened during the surprise gas attack on the French lines by the German Army on 22nd April 1915. At exactly 5 o'clock, as the gas cloud was released, a Belgian woman gave birth to a baby boy in the cellar of a cottage on the Zonnebeekseweg, just 3 kilometres from the poisonous gas cloud and the battle that was going on as a result of it.(2) The spring of 1915 was the first time that warm weather began to warm up the countryside after the cold winter at war in 1914-1915.

In the region around Ypres in Belgian Flanders the months of April and May 1915 were unusually warm. Farmers were ploughing their fields close up to the front lines and new life was starting to grow. One of the plants that began to grow in clusters on and around the battle zones was the red field or corn poppy (it's species name is: papaver rhoeas). It is often to be found in or on the edges of fields where grain is grown. The field poppy is an annual plant which flowers each year between about May and August. It's seeds are disseminated on the wind and can lie dormant in the ground for a long time. If the ground is disturbed from the early spring the seeds will germinate and the poppy flowers will grow. This is what happened in parts of the front lines in Belgium and France. Once the ground was disturbed by the fighting, the poppy seeds lying in the ground began to germinate and grow during the warm weather in the spring and summer months of 1915, 1916, 1917 and 1918.

The field poppy was also blooming in parts of the Turkish battlefields on the Gallipoli penninsular when the ANZAC and British Forces arrived at the start of the campaign in April 1915. “In Flanders Fields the Poppies Blow...” The sight of these delicate, vibrant red flowers growing on the shattered ground caught the attention of a Canadian soldier by the name of John McCrae. He noticed how they had sprung up in the disturbed ground of the burials around the artillery position he was in. It was during the warm days of early May 1915 when he found himself with his artillery brigade near to the Ypres-Yser canal. He is believed to have composed a poem following the death of a friend at that time. The first lines of the poem have become some of the most famous lines written in relation to the First World War. 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.

Inspiration for the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy Miss Moina Belle Michael (4) The origin of the red Flanders poppy as a modern-day symbol of Remembrance was the inspiration of an American woman, Miss Moina Michael. Moina Michael: “The Poppy Lady” It was on a Saturday morning, 9 November 1918, two days before the Armistice was declared at 11 o'clock on 11 November. Moina Belle Michael was on duty at the YMCA Overseas War Secretaries' headquarters in New York. She was working in the “Gemot” in Hamilton Hall. This was a reading room and a place where U.S. servicemen would often gather with friends and family to say their goodbyes before they went on overseas service. On that day Hamilton Hall and the “Gemot” was busy with people coming and going. The Twenty-fifth Conference of the Overseas YMCA War Secretaries was in progress at the headquarters.

During the first part of the morning as a young soldier passed by Moina's desk he left a copy of the latest November edition of the “Ladies Home Journal” on the desk.(3) At about 10.30am Moina found a few moments to herself and browsed through the magazine. In it she came across a page which carried a vivid colour illustration with the poem entitled “We Shall Not Sleep”. This was an alternative name sometimes used for John McCrae's poem, which was also called “In Flanders Fields”. Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae had died of pneumonia several months earlier on 28 January 1918. A black and white reproduction of the colour illustration which was printed in the Ladies Home Journal which had such an impact on Moina Michael. (5) Moina had come across the poem before, but reading it on this occasion she found herself transfixed by the last verse: 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.

In her autobiography, entitled “The Miracle Flower”, Moina describes this experience as deeply spiritual. She felt as though she was actually being called in person by the voices which had been silenced by death. Moina Michael's Pledge to Keep the Faith At that moment Moina made a personal pledge to “keep the faith”. She vowed always to wear a red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance. It would become an emblem for “keeping the faith with all who died”. Compelled to make a note of this pledge she scribbled down a response on the back of a used envelope. She titled her poem "We Shall Keep the Faith". The first verse read like this: Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields, Sleep sweet - to rise anew! We caught the torch you threw And holding high, we keep the Faith With All who died. “We Shall Keep the Faith” by Moina Michael Three men attending the conference then arrived at Moina's desk. On behalf of the delegates they asked her to accept a cheque for 10 dollars, in appreciation of the effort she had made to brighten up the place with flowers at her own expense.

She was touched by the gesture and replied that she would buy twenty-five red poppies with the money. She showed them the illustration for John McCrae's poem “In Flanders Fields” in the Ladies Home Journal, together with her response to it “We Shall Keep the Faith”. The delegates took both poems back into the Conference. Poppies Worn in Remembrance After searching the shops for some time that day Moina found one large and twenty-four small artificial red silk poppies in Wanamaker's department store. When she returned to duty at the YMCA Headquarters later that evening the delegates from the Conference crowded round her asking for poppies to wear. Keeping one poppy for her coat collar she gave out the rest of the poppies to the enthusiastic delegates. According to Moina, this was the first group-effort asking for poppies to wear in memory of “all who died in Flanders Fields”. Since this group had given her the money with which to buy them, she considered that she made the first sale of the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy on 9 November 1918.

Campaign for the Poppy as a National Memorial Symbol Moina Michael was determined to put all her energy towards getting the Poppy emblem adopted in the United States as a national memorial symbol. She was encouraged by a positive reaction to the idea by the press. She began a tireless campaign at her own expense, starting with a letter to her congressman in December 1918. In the letter she asked him to put the idea to the War Department, which he immediately did. She wanted to act swiftly so that this new national emblem might be already be produced in the form of pins, on postcards and so on in time for the signing of the peace treaty at Versailles in June 1919. She realized that after the war the numerous signs related to the war - the Red Cross, War Loan insignia, Service Flags - which had been evident all over the United States during it's involvement in the war would gradually be removed. Moina considered that a replacement emblem, the red poppy, could be used to fill those empty spaces as a symbolic reminder of those who had not returned home to celebrate the end of the war.

Her religious upbringing inspired her to believe that the Flanders Memorial Poppy was indeed a spiritual symbol with more meaning behind it than pure sentimentalism. She likened the new optimism for a world returned to peace after the “war to end all wars” to the magnificent rainbow which appeared in the sky after the terrible flood in the bible. The Torch and the Poppy Emblem The Miracle Flower. Moina Michael's autobiography about the story of the Memorial Poppy. Originally Moina intended to use the simple red, four petalled field poppy of Flanders as the Memorial Poppy emblem. Moina was put in touch with a designer, Mr Lee Keedick, who offered to design a national emblem under contract. In December 1918 he produced a final design, which was accepted. This emblem consisted of a border of blue on a white background with the Torch of Liberty and a Poppy entwined in the centre, containing the colours of the Allied flags: red, white, blue, black, green and yellow. The design appealed to Moina. The “Torch and Poppy” emblem was first used officially on 14 February, 1919 in Carnegie Hall, New York City.

The event was a lecture given by the Canadian ace pilot, Colonel William Avery “Billy” Bishop, VC, CB, DSO & Bar, MC DFC, ED. His lecture was titled “Air Fighting in Flanders Fields”. As the lecture ended a large flag with the new torch and poppy emblem on it was unfurled at the back of the stage. However, in spite of the interest raised by the appearance of the new emblem at the time, and Moina's continued efforts to publicize the campaign, this emblem was not taken up by any group or individual to help establish it as a national symbol. There was so little public interest in the enterprise that eventually the emblem's designer, Mr Keedick, abandoned his interest in pursuing Moina's campaign. The Poppy and Help for Wounded Ex-Servicemen During the winter of 1918/1919 Moina Michael continued working for the Staff of the Overseas YMCA Secretaries. She visited wounded and sick men from her home state of Georgia who were hospitalized in nine of the debarkation hospitals in and around New York City. She wanted to find what extra things she could do for them in addition to the medical care they were receiving.

By March 1919 she had moved back to Georgia to take up her place at the University of Georgia. With the return of thousands of ex-servicemen to the state Moina realised that there was not only a need to honour the memory of those who had died in the service of their country, but also a need to remember that those who were returning also had mental, physical and spiritual needs. During the summer months of 1919 Moina taught a class of disabled servicemen. There were several hundred ex-servicemen in rehabilitation at the University of Georgia. Learning about their needs at first hand gave her the impetus to widen the scope of the Memorial Poppy idea. She thought it could be developed so that it could be used to help all servicemen who needed help for themselves and for their dependants. Official Recognition of the Memorial Poppy In 1983 a WW1 veteran, the late Tom Price, lays a poppy wreath at the grave of a comrade killed on the Somme battlefield in July 1916. By 1920 Moina Michael was beginning to lose hope that the Memorial Poppy idea would ever come to fruition.

She was in a dilemma about whether to pursue her own academic career or whether to abandon it in order to devote herself entirely to the Memorial Poppy campaign. However, in the early 1920s a number of organizations did adopt the red poppy as a result of Moina's dedicated campaign. 1920: The American Legion Adopts the Memorial Poppy In 1919 the American Legion was founded as an organization by veterans of the United States armed forces to support those who had served in wartime in Europe during the First World War. In August 1920 Moina discovered by chance that the Georgia Department of the American Legion was to convene on 20 of that month in Atlanta. Prior to the convention she searched out the delegates and the Navy representative promised to present her case for the Memorial Poppy to the convention. The Georgia Convention subsequently adopted the Memorial Poppy but omitted the Torch symbol. The Convention also agreed to endorse the movement to have the Poppy adopted by the National American Legion and resolved to urge each member of the American Legion in Georgia to wear a red poppy annually on 11 November.

One month later, on 29 September 1920, the National American Legion convened in Cleveland. The Convention agreed on the use of the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy as the United States' national emblem of Remembrance. Anna Guérin: “The French Poppy Lady” Fund Raising for France with Poppies Anna Guérin (photo courtesy of Heather Johnson) A French woman by the name of Madame Anna E Guérin was present at the 29 September National American Legion convention. Anna was a representative of the French YMCA Secretariat. Anna considered that artificial poppies could be made and sold as a way of raising money for the benefit of the French people, especially the orphaned children, who were suffering as a result of the war. She was the founder of the “American and French Children's League” through which she organized French women, children and war veterans to make artificial poppies out of cloth. Her intention was that these poppies would be sold and the proceeds could be used to help fund the restoration of the war-torn regions of France. Anna was determined to introduce the idea of the memorial poppy to the nations which had been Allied with France during the First World War.

During 1921 she made visits or sent representatives to America, Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Life and Work of Anna Guérin A website released in November 2015 is devoted to Anna and her work with the poppy and Remembrance. This has been researched by Heather Johnson and provides a previously unknown insight into the part played by Anna in the story of the Remembrance Poppy. You can visit the website at: Spreading the Message of the Memorial Poppy 1921: French Poppies Sold in America In 1921 Madame Guérin made arrangements for the first nationwide distribution across America of poppies made in France by the American and French Childrens' League. The funds raised from this venture went directly to the League to help with rehabilitation and resettlement of the areas of France devastated by the First World War. Millions of these French-made artificial poppies were sold in America between 1920 and 1924. 5 July 1921: Canada adopts the Flower of Remembrance Madame Anna Guérin travelled to Canada, where she met with representatives of the Great War Veterans Association of Canada. This organization later became the Royal Canadian Legion.

The Great War Veterans Association adopted the poppy as its national flower of Remembrance on 5 July 1921. 11 November 1921: The First British Legion Poppy Day Appeal A 1921 fabric poppy sold in the United Kingdom by the British Legion in aid of ex-Servicemen and women. (Courtesy of Heather Johnson) In 1921 Anna Guérin sent some French women to London to sell their artificial red poppies. This was the first introduction to the British people of Moina Michael's idea of the Memorial Poppy. Madame Guérin went in person to visit Field Marshal Earl Douglas Haig, founder and President of The British Legion. She persuaded him to adopt the Flanders Poppy as an emblem for The Legion. This was formalized in the autumn of 1921. The first British Poppy Day Appeal was launched that year, in the run up to 11 November 1921. It was the third anniversary of the Armistice to end the Great War. Proceeds from the sale of artificial French-made poppies were given to ex-servicemen in need of welfare and financial support.

Since that time the red poppy has been sold each year by The British Legion from mid October to raise funds in support of the organization's charitable work. (6) 11 November 1921: Armistice Day Remembrance in Australia An Australian serviceman with a spray of poppies at the grave of an unknown Australian soldier at Polygon Wood cemetery, Ypres, on 11 November 2002. A resolution was passed in Australia that from 11 November 1921 the red Memorial Poppy was to be worn on Armistice Day in Australia. The American and French Childrens' League sent a million artificial poppies to Australia for the 1921 Armistice Day commemoration. The Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League sold poppies before 11 November. A poppy was sold for one shilling each. Of this, five pennies were donated to a French childrens' charity, six pennies were donated to the Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League and one penny was received by the government. Since that time red poppies have been worn on the anniversary of Armistice in Australia, officially named Remembrance Day since 1977.

Poppy wreaths are also laid in Australia on the day of national commemoration called ANZAC DAY on 25 April. This is the day when the ANZAC Force landed on the beaches of the Gallipoli penninsular at the start of that campaign on 25 April 1915. 24 April 1922: The First Poppy Day in New Zealand In September 1921 a representative from Madame Guérin visited the New Zealand veterans' association, called the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association (NZRSA) at that time. This organization had been established in 1916 by returning wounded veterans. With the aim of distributing poppies in advance of the anniversary of Armistice Day on 11 November that year, the NZRSA placed an order for 350,000 small and 16,000 large French-made poppies from the French and American Childrens' League. Unfortunately the delivery of the poppies did not arrive in time to organize and publicize the first nationwide poppy campaign, the Association decided to hold the first Poppy Day on 24 April, the day before ANZAC Day, in the following year.

The first Poppy Day in New Zealand in 1922 raised funds of over £13,000. A proportion of this was sent to the French and American Childrens' League and the remainder was used by the Association for support and welfare of returned soldiers in New Zealand. May 1922: French-made Poppies Sold in the United States In 1922 the organization of the American and French Childrens' League was disbanded. Madam Guérin was still keen to raise funds for the French people who had suffered the destruction of their communities. She asked the American organization called Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to help her with the distribution of her French-made poppies throughout the United States. That year the VFW assisted with the sale of the poppies in America to help keep up the much needed funds for the battle-scarred areas of France. The poppies were sold before Memorial Day which was observed at that time on 30th May. This was the first time that a United States war veterans' organization took on the task of selling the red poppy as a symbol of Remembrance and as a means of fund raising.

The VFW decided to adopt the poppy as its own official memorial flower. 1923: The American Legion Sells Poppies in the United States In 1923 the American Legion sold poppies in the United States which were made by a French company. Remembrance Poppies Made by War Veterans American Legion Auxiliary Pays for Poppies The Auxiliary to the American Legion was an organization founded in 1919 to support The American Legion. It was for women who wanted to devote their voluntary services to veterans and young people. The first convention of the Auxiliary took place in September 1921 and delegates agreed to adopt the red poppy as the memorial flower for the organization. The delegates at the convention also agreed that disabled American war veterans could make their own poppies to be sold within the United States. The Auxiliary believed that US veterans making their own poppies could generate much needed income for disabled and unemployed veterans who had no other means of earning money. The Auxiliary provided all the material for the artificial poppies and had it pre-cut to form easily into individual flowers. The Auxiliary paid a penny for each poppy that was made. Moina Michael was very pleased with this development.

According to her there was a feeling in America that so many returning servicemen did not have jobs and that they could themselves benefit from making and selling poppies. These men had done their bit for France and now they needed to provide food, shelter and clothing for their own families.(7) The American Legion Auxiliary continues its work to support veterans and promotes the wearing of a red poppy on the annual Memorial Day observed in May in the United States. Paper poppies are handmade by veterans who are paid for them. The Buddy Poppy Factory, U.S.A. Following the distribution of the red French-made poppies for Madame Guérin in 1922, the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organization formally agreed in 1923 that American veterans of the Great War could also benefit from making and selling the red Memorial Poppy. From 1924 disabled ex-servicemen started making poppies at the “Buddy Poppy” factory in Pittsburgh. The name “Buddy Poppy” was registered as a U.S. Patent in February 1924. In the following May a certificate was issued to grant trademark rights to the VWF for the manufacture of genuine “Buddy Poppies”.

Since the 1920s the “Buddy Poppy” program has continued to raise money for the welfare and support of veterans and their dependants. There are now 11 locations where the “Buddy Poppies” are made by disabled and needy veterans. Some 14 million “Buddy Poppies” are distributed each year in the United States. Founding of The Poppy Factory in England One of the first fabric poppies sold in the United Kingdom by the British Legion in aid of The Haig Fund. British poppy wreaths made by The Poppy Factory. (Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, November 2005.) A modern Royal British Legion poppy. Originally bearing the words HAIG FUND, the black centre now bears the words “POPPY APPEAL”. In 1922 the Poppy Factory was established in the Old Kent Road, south London. It was the idea of Major George Howson MC, founder of The Disabled Society for disabled ex-servicemen and women. By making artificial poppies for sale around the anniversary of the 1918 Armistice, the Poppy Factory could employ five disabled men during the year.

In 1933 the demand for poppies for Poppy Day was such that the Poppy Factory had to move to larger premises in Richmond, Surrey. The demand for poppies continued to grow each year. Nowadays the Poppy Factory is producing nearly 40 million poppies for wreaths, sprays and buttonholes. The Lady Haig Poppy Factory, Scotland The Earl Haig Fund Scotland was set up as a Scottish charity in 1921 by its founder Field Marshal Earl Douglas Haig. In 1926 Countess Dorothy Haig, wife of Earl Haig, founded the Poppy Factory in Edinburgh. Earl Haig had been born in Edinburgh. The charity now trades by the name of Poppyscotland, based in Edinburgh. It continues to raise funds for the Scottish Poppy Appeal, supporting veterans and their dependants in Scotland. The Lady Haig Poppy Factory produces over four million poppies each year. Approximately 30 veterans with disabilities are employed at the Factory. Canadian Veterans and Remembrance Poppies Modern Canadian poppy wreath at the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, November 2005.

From 1922 disabled Canadian war veterans made the lapel poppies that were sold in Canada. This was carried out with sponsorship from the Canadian government Department of Soldiers Civil Re-establishment. From 1966 the operation was moved to the workshops of the Veterans' Affairs Canada, called Vetcraft, in Montreal. More recently the Royal Canadian Legion has taken over the task of producing the poppies for Remembrance Day. The poppies are now made by a company under the guidelines of the Royal Canadian Legion. Making the New Zealand Poppies The poppies for Poppy Day distributed by the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association (NZRSA) were obtained from the French Childrens' League until 1927. For the next three years they were ordered from the Poppy Factory in Richmond, England. It was in 1931 that the NZRSA established a scheme in Auckland and Christchurch so that disabled veterans could make the poppies themselves.

At the end of the Second World War the number of poppies distributed in New Zealand had grown to approximately 750,000.(8) The design of the poppy was changed in 1978 to that of the “Earl Haig poppy” as produced by the Royal British Legion. The Christchurch RSA is now responsible for the production of all the poppies made for Poppy Day in New Zealand. Poppies on the Old Battlefields Poppies on the Somme battlefield at Thiepval. Nowadays poppies still bloom on the old 1914-1918 battlefields of northern France and Belgium. However, visitors expecting to see fields of poppies will quite likely be disappointed. The idea of fields full of poppies is possibly a misconstrued image from the lines of John McCrae's poem "In Flanders fields the poppies blow". More likely the line refers to clusters of poppies growing in the fields and especially around the graves in the disturbed ground of the poem. Due to the nature of farming today the poppies blooming in the battlefield areas do tend to be found in small clusters rather than in whole fields.

The affects of the weather can also provide a better show of flowering poppies in one year more than another. The Poppy Umbrella: A Gift to Remember The Poppy Umbrella Founded by the family behind this website, the design of The Poppy Umbrella was inspired by the powerful image of poppies in John McCrae's poem “In Flanders Fields”. This unique umbrella was created by Lieutenant Colonel Graham Parker, OBE, as an innovative and practical way to “Uphold the Memory”. Sales of The Poppy Umbrella help to raise funds for Service related welfare charities and military heritage organizations. Madame Anna Guérin, The French Poppy Lady: poppyladymadameguerin.wordpress.com The American Legion: The American Legion Auxiliary Poppy Program: New Zealand Returned and Services' Association (NZRSA): Poppyscotland Poppy Appeal: Returned Services League (Australia): The Royal British Legion: The Royal British Legion: Poppy Appeal Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Campaign: Veterans of Foreign Wars Buddy Poppy Program (USA) Acknowledgements (1) Quoted from James McConnell, Flying for France, New York, 1916.

McConnell was killed in March 1917 when he was shot down. (2) The next day the mother fled the battle area with her newborn child. She managed to meet up with her husband in England. In 1920 the Lauwers family returned to Ypres. The child's birth certificate for 5 o'clock on 22nd April 1915 was reissued in 1920. Source: Dokumentatiecentrum, In Flanders Fields Museum, Ieper. (3) He was the son of A G Kneble, Executive Secretary to the War Personnel Board of National War Workers Council, the governing board of the staff of the YMCA Secretaries for Overseas. (4) Photograph of Moina Michael taken from The Miracle Flower, courtesy of Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc. (5) Image of the page in the Ladies Home Journal taken from The Miracle Flower, courtesy of Dorrance Publishing Co. Inc. (6) The British Legion was granted a Royal Charter on 29 May 1971, thus it has been named The Royal British Legion from that time. (7) The Miracle Flower, page 81.

(8) The History of Poppy Day. An article by the NZRSA historian Dr Stephen Clarke on the website the The History of the Poppy Appeal . Grateful thanks fo Heather Johnson and her research on the website dedicated to Madame Anna Guérin website. Charity&apos;s new name has poppy appeal (From HeraldScotland) Charity's new name has poppy appeal THE charity that raises funds for armed forces veterans and their dependants revealed an identity change yesterday. Formerly the Earl Haig Fund Scotland, officials at Poppyscotland hope the new name will give the charity a more modern image and make its work more recognisable with the public. The name Earl Haig Fund Scotland will continue to be the legally registered name. Loading article content George Douglas, 2nd Earl Haig, the son of the charity's founder, Field Marshal Haig, said: "After 85 years, this part of my father's legacy to the exservice community is still going strong, now under the new name of Poppyscotland. He would be proud the public still support his aims." Controversy has surrounded Field Marshall Douglas Haig's association with the old soldiers' fund amid criticism of his methods during the First World War.

Many historians have argued that the battle of the Somme and its monumental death toll, almost 20,000 British soldiers died on the first day alone, was due in part to Haig's ineptitude and disregard for the lives of his men. Fund organisers insist the new brand will permit easier identification of the charity's round-the-year work in fundraising and support for veterans and dependants. It will not mean a name change for the charity's largest fundraising activity, the Scottish Poppy Appeal. Johann Lamont MSP, Scottish minister with responsibility for veterans, launched the revamp with Lieutenant-General Sir Alistair Irwin, Poppyscotland president, Colonel David Scott, chairman, and Jim Panton, chief executive. Mr Panton said: "Too few people recognise the link between the Earl Haig Fund Scotland and the Scottish Poppy Appeal. "A new identity will help solve that problem." Poppyscotland | Vital support for the Armed Forces community Donate £3 to Poppyscotland by texting “poppy” to 70800. Poppyscotland will receive a min of £2.97 depending on your service provider. Texts cost £3 plus your standard message charge.

To opt out of all future communications end your text with NOINFO. Helpline 0131 550 1567 . We depend on your donations to continue our vital work for the Armed Forces community We offer a number of ways to donate to Poppyscotland. Choose the way that best suits you: Earl Haig - Telegraph Art Obituaries Earl Haig The 2nd Earl Haig, who died on Thursday aged 91, was the son of the First World War commander on the Western Front but broke with generations of military tradition in his family to become a professional painter. 6:40PM BST 10 Jul 2009 He started exhibiting his work soon after the Second World War but was not taken seriously as an artist until 1956, when one of his portraits was sold at auction at Christie's along with works by Rubens, Rembrandt, Hogarth and Reynolds. His work is now in the collections of the Arts Council and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Haig's decision to become a painter owed much to his experience as a prisoner of war.

He was captured by the Italians in the Western Desert in 1942 while serving as a second lieutenant with the Royal Scots Greys, and eventually sent to Colditz, where he spent most of his time painting. It was, he said, "an incredible release from the responsibility of my father's reputation as a soldier to sit in a chilly lavatory, where the only mirror hung, painting endless self-portraits". At Colditz he started using oil paints, which had been denied him by his Italian captors in case the tubes contained maps. Because he was the son of Field Marshal Earl Haig he was a member of the Colditz prominente, a group of prisoners set aside as hostages due to their important connections. He formed close friendships with other prisoners in this category who included Lord Lascelles (King George VI's nephew), the Master of Elphinstone (the Queen Mother's nephew), Lord Hopetoun and Giles Romilly (the nephew of Winston Churchill). They were young men with high ideals and Haig, whom they described as a gaunt, romantic figure who wore "silence like a dark cloak", earned their deep respect.

When Colditz was liberated by the Americans in 1945, the prominente were taken under escort to the Alpine redoubt. But Haig was suffering from acute dysentery and was forced to remain behind under guard at Königstein Castle on the Elbe, which was eventually liberated by the Russians. Before the Russians arrived, the German commandant at Königstein asked Haig if he would carry with him paintings which were being hidden in a nearby salt mine and ensure that they were safely returned to their original home, the National Gallery in Dresden. Haig refused, allegedly saying: "Thanks, but I'd sooner carry my own." Related Articles Son of First World War's Field Marshall Sir Douglas Haig dies 10 Jul 2009 By the end of the war, he had determined to make painting his career, and in 1951 he retired from the Army with the rank of captain. He later studied at Camberwell School of Art, where he was a pupil of Victor Pasmore, but did not follow his mentor from realism to abstraction. From this time onwards he largely abandoned portraits for landscapes, his favourite subject being the Scottish borders where he spent most of his life and which inspired some of his best works.

One of his first admirers was the Queen Mother, who bought one of his landscapes for 30 guineas shortly after his first exhibition. In 1958 the Queen appointed him to the Royal Fine Art Commission for Scotland. George Alexander Eugene Douglas Haig was born in London on March 15 1918, the only son of Field Marshal the 1st Earl Haig. He was educated at Stowe, which he remembered fondly – "the odd bottle of gin came up in one's bicycle basket from Buckingham, but it was all completely innocent" – and then at Christ Church, Oxford. Although he had been only 10 when his father died, Viscount Dawick – as he was until he succeeded to the earldom – campaigned with relentless energy and dignity to rescue his father's reputation. "My father had a terrible burden," he would say, "but I think he did marvellously well." He bitterly resented his father's name being used to evoke a symbol of ruthless leadership. When Roy Jenkins did so in a speech to the London Labour Party in 1971, Haig fiercely attacked him in a letter to The Times. Jenkins later apologised.

He was patron of the Douglas Haig Fellowship, a society founded by historians in 1994 to rehabilitate his father's name. In August 1998, 70 years after the Field Marshal's death, he was honoured with a plaque in the St George's Memorial Chapel at Ypres. Largely thanks to his son, the Field Marshal's reputation has now recovered from some of the furious attacks of the 1960s, though he still has his detractors. In 1991 Haig condemned as "poisonous trash" a book claiming his father forged passages in his diary to make himself look better to historians, and which spoke of "blunders" at the Somme, Passchendaele and Cambrai, and of panic in the face of a German offensive. Three years ago Haig courted controversy by criticising the Ministry of Defence's decision to pardon all 306 soldiers shot for cowardice or desertion. "It was a terribly sad situation and some of these soldiers were genuinely shell-shocked," he said. "But many were rogues, persistent deserters and criminals, or they were guilty of cowardice. They had to be made an example of.

I know my father took enormous trouble to consider the merits of each case before authorising any execution. It wasn't a decision he took lightly". Haig wrote an account of his relationship with his father and the attempts he made to revise his image. But although friends read it, he resisted all attempts to persuade him to publish, though he wrote My Father's Son (2000), which dealt with his own first 30 years. In 1983 he sold his father's papers and war diaries to the National Library in Edinburgh for £500,000. Haig lived for most of his life at Bemersyde, a 14th-century house near Melrose in the Scottish borders which was a gift from the nation to his father in 1921 and which he inherited on his father's death in 1928. He ran the 1,500-acre estate with a combination of economy and eccentricity. In 1980 he obtained permission from his local council in Berwickshire to erect a 150ft windmill in the grounds to generate electricity. Sceptical neighbours quickly christened it "Haig's Folly".

He once tried to open the house to the public, but found that it was not large enough to attract many customers, so he tried to fund its upkeep through the sale of his paintings. At times this was an impossible burden, and in the early 1990s he was forced to sell four building plots to raise money for essential repairs to the house. None the less, under Haig's directorship Bemersyde, which rolls gently down to the river Tweed, has become a model estate. The grounds are immaculate and the house, based around a peel tower, is in good repair. Haig was a very private man, but he was keen that everyone should share in the beauty of his estate and he voluntarily opened its riverside walks to the public. As well as being a lover of Norwich terriers he greatly enjoyed fishing; in his later years he was extremely saddened by the plummeting salmon levels in the Tweed. Among those friends who used to stay with him from the early 1970s was the German artist Joseph Beuys, a former Luftwaffe pilot. Much of Haig's time was dedicated to the servicemen's charities founded by his father.

He was chairman of the British Legion in Scotland from 1962 to 1965 and president of the Earl Haig Fund for ex-servicemen from 1980 to 1986. One of the fund's greatest legacies is Lady Haig's poppy factory in Edinburgh, which was set up by Haig's mother and now produces more than four million Remembrance poppies every year. In 1966 he was appointed OBE for his services to the British Legion. During the Thatcher years he regularly attended the House of Lords, where he sat as a Tory. He felt passionately about the United Kingdom, and persistently opposed Scottish devolution if it was in any way to endanger the Union. In 1956 he married the textile designer Adrienne Therese Morley in St Columba's Church of Scotland church in Pont Street, London. To announce the birth of their first child, a daughter, Haig lit a vast bonfire on top of Bemersyde Hill, near their home.

After 20 years of marriage he and his first wife divorced and, in 1981, he married, secondly, Donna Geroloma Lopez y Royo di Taurisano, known as Fritzy. "Dawyck" Haig, as he was known to his friends, is survived by his wife, two daughters and his heir, Viscount Dawick, born in 1961. Published July 10 2009 poppy, Earl Haig's Appeal (EPH 10795) poppy, Earl Haig's Appeal full name: poppy, Earl Haig's Appeal Category souvenirs and ephemera If you are interested in the full range of licenses available for this material, please contact one of our collections sales and licensing teams. Physical description Handmade poppy with red fabric petals, green plastic centre and wire stem, underneath the poppy flower is a red card label printed as follows 'EARL HAIG'S APPEAL FOR EX SERVICE MEN OF ALL RANKS'.

Associated keywords © IWM 2016 © IWM 2017 History & timeline - The Poppy Factory History & timeline History The evolution of The Poppy Factory Nearly a century ago, when Major George Howson MC opened his factory in 1922, he had but one dream: “to give the disabled their chance.” Thousands of wounded soldiers, sailors and airmen were returning from The Great War without the means of earning a living and Howson was sure he could do something about it. Poppies had become popular as an icon of public Remembrance through the work of Anna Guerin of France and Moina Michael of the USA, who took Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae’s famous poem, “In Flanders Fields”, and devised a practical way of raising vital funds for wartime charities. The British Legion had been set up the year before and the very first Poppy Appeal – using silk poppies made by widows in France – had raised £106,000. Scroll down for a timeline of our history. Howson saw his chance and asked Earl Haig (founder of the British Legion) if he could make the poppies for their next Poppy Appeal.

Howson had been given a cheque for £2,000 and used it to set up The Disabled Society with just 6 staff. Within 10 years, the name had changed to The Poppy Factory and Howson was employing over 350 disabled veterans to make the poppies. The factory moved to Richmond in 1925 and in 1928 Howson founded the annual Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey. Towards the end of the century, the needs of veterans started to change. They wanted to work in their local communities, to be closer to their families, and to utilise the wide variety of skills that they learned during their time in HM Armed Forces. This was the cue to innovate. In 2010, The Poppy Factory embarked upon a hopeful venture – much like Howson did in 1922 – and took their expertise for employing disabled ex-Service personnel on the road to help veterans find the work they wanted in the places they wanted to be. The Poppy Factory has now built upon its strong historical foundations to provide an exceptional employability service that supports hundreds of ex-Service personnel with health challenges into rewarding employment with businesses across the country every year.

Timeline In Flanders Fields written 13 May 1915 After presiding over the funeral of a friend who died in the Second Battle of Ypres, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae was inspired to write the famous war poem, In Flanders Fields. The poem contains the famous lines, “If ye break faith with us who die, We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flanders fields”. Moina Michael 9 November 1918 An American Professor and humanitarian named Moina Michael wrote a response to McCrae’s poem entitled We Shall Keep The Faith in 1918. She vowed to always wear a poppy as a symbol of Remembrance for those who served in the war. Michael realised the need to provide financial and occupational support for ex-Servicemen after teaching a class of disabled veterans at the University of Georgia, and pursued the idea of selling silk poppies to raise funds for them.

The Disabled Society founded 1 January 1920 The Disabled Society (later to become The Poppy Factory) was founded shortly after the end of WW1 by Major George Howson MC and Jack Cohen MP in response to the growing need for employment support amongst wounded Servicemen returning from the Great War. Earl Haig’s fund 15 May 1921 Moina Michael’s efforts inspired Frenchwoman, Madame Anna Guérin, to suggest to the newly-formed British Legion to take on the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. The first ‘Poppy Appeal’ in 1921 used artificial poppies made by women and children in devastated areas of France. Anna Guerin 1 September 1921 Because the money already raised for widows and orphans could not be spent on buying poppies until after distributioon to the public, Madame Guerin agreed with the British Legion’s treasury to take responsibility for the poppy order from France on the understanding that they would reimburse her afterwards. The first ‘Poppy Appeal’ ended up raising £106,000.

The Disabled Society makes poppies 1 April 1922 George Howson persuaded Earl Haig that the Disabled Society should supply the appeal’s poppies to provide paid work for British veterans wounded in the war. Haig accepted and Howson was given a grant of £2,000 with which he set up a small factory off the Old Kent Road with five ex-Servicemen. It was here that the first British poppies were made. Howson’s letter home 14 May 1922 Howson wrote a moving letter to his parents of the news; “I have been given a cheque for £2,000 to make poppies with. It is a large responsibility and will be very difficult. If the experiment is successful it will be the start of an industry to employ 150 men. I do not think it can be a great success, but it is worth trying. I consider the attempt ought to be made if only to give the disabled their chance.” The early years 1 August 1922 The workforce quickly grew to over 40 men and they made over a million poppies in 2 months.

Prince of Wales visit 1 November 1924 The Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) visited The Disabled Society’s Poppy Factory in November 1924. The factory made 27 million poppies that year. Most of the employees were disabled, and by then there was a long waiting list for prospective employees. The Poppy Factory moves to Richmond 1 January 1925 Within just three years, the The British Legion Poppy Factory (as it had become known) had outgrown the former collar factory premises in Bermondsey as the demand for poppies increased, so it moved to the Lansdown Brewery site in Richmond on the Petersham Road using funds donated by Howson. The charity is still based in Richmond to this day. The new building First annual Field of Remembrance 1 January 1928 George Howson founded the first annual Field of Remembrance in the grounds of Westminster Abbey in 1928 with a small band of disabled factory workers. They grouped around two battlefield crosses, familiar to those who had served in Flanders and the Western Front, with a tray of poppies and they invited passers-by to plant a poppy in the vicinity of the crosses.

In the first year, there were only two memorials – one dedicated to “Tommy Atkins” – a nickname for a rank-and-file soldier in the British Army – and one to Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, who had died in January that year. The new factory 1 January 1932 Housing for the workers and their families was built on adjacent land and in 1932 the present factory was built. In its heyday, The Poppy Factory was employing over 350 people – as seen in this photo from the same period. Workers in Richmond Howson’s death 1 June 1936 After George Howson’s death from pancreatic cancer in 1936, his coffin was taken to The Poppy Factory and surrounded by colourful wreaths and poppies. Every worker then took his turn to hold an hour of silent vigil in memorium. Original Bermondsey factory demolished Poppy Appeal raised over £3.5m 1 January 1978 Poppy centre name change 1 January 1994 The centre of the remembrance poppy had always read “Haig Fund”, the name for the early poppy appeal.

In 1994 it was changed to “Poppy Appeal”. Here is the old factory foreman, Bill Williams, with the biggest silk poppy ever made at the time in 1933. Veterans’ needs change 1 January 2000 Come the turn of the century, it became apparent that people were leaving the Armed Forces with a range of transferable skills, and veterans wanted to work closer to their families in their own communities across the country. As the factory workforce began to decline, automation took up the slack as the demand for remembrance products was still high. First veterans supported into external work 1 January 2005 The Poppy Factory had often been used as a stepping-stone from conflict or rehabilitation into other employment. In 2005, The Poppy Factory started supporting disabled veterans into employment within civilian businesses around the country. Getting You Back to Work programme launched 1 January 2010 After a few successful experiments, The Poppy Factory launched a formal programme to support veterans with health challenges into paid employment not just in the factory, but around the whole country – furthering George Howsons’s original vision.

Employability and occupational health experts were recruited regionally and partnerships with employers were forged to provide opportunities for veterans. The Queen visits TPF 1 November 2012 Her Majesty The Queen visited The Poppy Factory herself in 2012, to see first-hand how Howson’s mission to help disabled ex-Service personnel is still alive to this day. Duchess of Cornwall becomes Patron 1 October 2013 Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall became The Poppy Factory’s sole Patron in 2013 in an effort to boost awareness of The Poppy Factory as an independent charity. The Duchess visited the factory and met some of the disabled veterans that TPF has helped into civilian employment elsewhere. Biggest-ever Poppy Appeal 1 November 2014 The annual order for poppies and wreaths was the largest ever from The Royal British Legion, and the 2014 Poppy Appeal raised a record £44m for the charity. Whereas The Poppy Factory has to fundraise itself to support disabled veterans into the wider world of work, the cost of producing the poppies is recovered from The Royal British Legion.

Biggest-ever Field of Remembrance 1 November 2014 The Poppy Factory’s annual Field of Remembrance was opened in 2014 by HRH Prince Harry, and raised a record £35,000. The money raised at the Field is traditionally donated to The Royal British Legion. 500 people helped through Getting You Back to Work 1 September 2015 When the GYBTW service was launched, a target was set to support 500 disabled ex-Serivce personnel into sustainable work by 2016. In the summer of 2015 this ambitious milestone was reached – proving that there is a national requirement for The Poppy Factory’s life-changing work. Poppy and Remembrance Day The First Two Minute Silence But why a poppy? Throughout the world the poppy is associated with the remembrance of those who died in order that we may be free, but how many of us are aware of the reason of how and why the poppy became the symbol of remembrance and an integral part of the work of the Royal British Legion? On this page we explain why the poppy is used as the symbol of remembrance.

Why the Poppy became the Symbol of Remembrance Flanders is the name of the whole western part of Belgium. It saw some of the most concentrated and bloodiest fighting of the First World War. There was complete devastation. Buildings, roads, trees and natural life simply disappeared. Where once there were homes and farms there was now a sea of mud - a grave for the dead where men still lived and fought. Only one other living thing survived. The poppy flowering each year with the coming of the warm weather, brought life, hope, colour and reassurance to those still fighting. Poppies only flower in rooted up soil. Their seeds can lay in the ground for years without germinating, and only grow after the ground has been disturbed. John McCrae, a doctor serving with the Canadian Armed Forces, was so deeply moved by what he saw in northern France that, in 1915 in his pocket book, he scribbled down the poem " In Flanders Fields " . McCrae's poem was eventually published in 'Punch' magazine under the title ' In Flanders Fields '. The poppy became a popular symbol for soldiers who died in battle. Why do we wear a Poppy?

In 1918, Moira Michael, an American, wrote a poem in reply, ' We shall keep the faith ', in which she promised to wear a poppy in honour of our dead. This began the tradition of wearing a poppy in remembrance. s Which side should I wear my Poppy? I feel it is more important to wear a poppy rather than worry about which side you should wear it. Some people prefer to wear a poppy on the left over their hearts. However, the general rules is to wear Left for men because that's where medals go and Right for women because that's where a widow would wear her husband's medals. Why do Scottish Remembrance Poppies have no green leaf and English Poppies do? "Unlike the English poppy, the Scottish poppy has four petals and no leaf. Apart from being botanically incorrect, to put a leaf on each of the poppies would cost £15,000 each year, money Poppy Scotland feels is better spent on supporting veterans and their dependants in Scotland." poppyscotland.org.uk Where does the money raised from selling poppies go?

Money raised from the selling of poppies in Scotland goes to the Earl Haig Fund and money raised in the rest of the UK and overseas goes to the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal Benevolent Fund. The money raised for both is ringfenced for providing welfare to those in need - veterans and their dependants. When was the first Poppy Day? The first actual Poppy Day was held in Britain on November 11th, 1921 and was a national success raising £106,000. Since then, during every November, we keep the memory alive by wearing a poppy to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives during war. About Us at The Poppyscotland Store About Us Who is Poppyscotland Poppyscotland is the leading charity supporting ex-Servicemen and women and their families in Scotland. We are probably best known for running the iconic Scottish Poppy Appeal, but we work all year round to help veterans and their families receive the care and support they urgently need.

The Scottish Poppy Appeal raises over £2 million each year and, combined with our other year-round fundraising, we are able to provide financial assistance to thousands of ex-Servicemen and women as well as helping to fund specialist services such as long term care, housing and employment. We were established in 1923 as The Earl Haig Fund Scotland but adopted our current name and logo in 2006 to reflect our revised fundraising activities and charitable services work. We are an independent charity and rely entirely on public donations to allow us to continue our life-changing work. The Poppyscotland Store is the official online merchandising web site of Poppyscotland. For more information on Poppyscotland please visit the main website . The Poppyscotland Store is owned and operated under licence from Poppyscotland by The Business Incentives Group Limited - Poppyscotland Who are The Business Incentives Group - Poppyscotland Limited? The Business Incentives Group Limited - Poppyscotland is a vertical service provider who specialise in the sales and promotion of licensed merchandising.

We have supplied our range of services to some of the World’s biggest brands, however, our main market place is working with SME’s who require more than products with a logo on it. We are creative, conscientious and have an in-depth knowledge of the global marketplace. Our management and staff have a clear focus on ethical matters and we continually review our working practices. We act responsibly when dealing with our client’s intellectual property and encourage Fair-trade where practicable. The Business Incentives Group Limited - Poppyscotland 160 Wishart Street, poppy (EPH 2313) EPH 2313 whole: Depth 17 mm, Length 175 mm, Width 83 mm Alternative names This item is available to be shared and re-used under the terms of the IWM Non Commercial Licence Label Interwar period British 'Remembrance Day' poppy which belonged to Colonel Wilson of the Salvation Army. Physical description flower, stem and tag poppy (95 mm in diameter) made of cloth strengthened with wire at the stem. Embossed in the centre is the inscription 'HAIG'S FUND'.

A tag attached to the poppy bears the inscription 'EARL HAIG'S APPEAL For Ex-Service Men of all Ranks and their Dependents BRITISH LEGION 'REMEMBRANCE DAY (Reg. No 689 752)'. History note Interwar period British 'Remembrance Day' poppy which belonged to Colonel Wilson of the Salvation Army. A) embossed in the centre b) printed on the tag a) HAIG'S FUND b) EARL HAIG'S APPEAL For Ex-Service Men of all Ranks and their Dependents BRITISH LEGION 'REMEMBRANCE DAY (Reg. No 689 752) Associated people and organisations

Question: Which flower is associated with the Earl Haigh Fund
Answer: Poppy