Remembrance Day , the 100th anniversary of the red Poppy, and new traditions emerging

A new postage Canadian postage stamp has been issued to mark 100 years since Canada’s collective Remembrance traditions were first bought together and the classic red poppy popularised. Acts of Remembrance, including wearing the poppy, honour the men and women who served their countries. Remembrance is also meant to bring unity across faiths, cultures and backgrounds, whilst respecting diverse experiences and learning and growing from them in future. We must use Remembrance Day to acknowledge not only those who served, but also to educate those who come after us, and to pay special tribute to those innocent civilians who have lost their lives in conflicts. “Lest we forget”

"The poppy's connection to remembrance really grew as a story of hope and enduring gratitude," says Steven Clark, national executive director of the Royal Canadian Legion, Canada’s largest veterans support and community service organisation. The Legion is also proud to have been working with Indigenous artists on the creation of beaded and sealskin poppies - just like Shermen Patabon has been doing every year- to honor family members and veterans. Mr. Clarke reflected : “now I have to say a veteran is a veteran, and the poppy represents all veterans. But we do realize that there's a different representation. So that's why we engage Indigenous artisans who have a very unique and special way of developing and presenting the remembrance poppy.

You may also be interested to know that a spin-off from the Royal British Legion, called The Poppy Factory, is located in the London suburb of Richmond. Tours are available to visit their archives, and factory where more than 5 million poppies are produced annually, including the wreaths of the Royal Family.

But the classic red poppy, made popular by the British and Canadian Legions, has been joined by many other poppy representations. These include white, which symbolizes a desire for peace not war, purple from notables such as the War Horse Memorial symbolising remembrance of animals also lost during conflict and war, and black, representing the contribution of black, African, Caribbean and Pacific Islands Communities. These various communities say that their variation on the red colour is meant to be a complement or addition to the classic red, rather than a rejection of any of the importance and symbolism. The Legion itself has also added silver and gold poppies, with 100 ridges which honour Captain Sir Thomas Moore, who raised some £33M simply doing 100 laps of his garden in his 100th year of life. Whatever poppy you chose, please wear it in Rembrance and honour the spirit of continuous education.

Our Canada Memorial Foundation Scholar, Katherine Greene, visited the Canada Memorial at St James’ Park this past weekend. The Memorial was unveiled by the Queen in 1994 and remembers the one million Canadians who served with British forces during the two World Wars.

The narrow walkway, dividing the memorial in two, faces the direction of the Canadian port of Halifax in Nova Scotia, from where many Canadian service personnel sailed for Europe.