Interesting Fact # 673 - The Poppy - Podcast

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The Red Poppy has become an internationally-recognised symbol of remembrance.

(In 1918 American Moira Michael wrote a poem called "We Shall Keep the Faith" and promised to wear a poppy in honour of the dead, beginning the tradition of remembrance poppies. The Royal British Legion held the first Poppy Appeal in 1921 to raise money for its welfare work in the ex-service community. It was hailed a great success, raising £106,000. Since then the Legion has encouraged the wearing of the red poppy as a poignant symbol of the need to pause and reflect on the human cost of war.

But there is another poppy - the white poppy. White poppies are also sold around Remembrance Day in the UK, as a symbol for peace. The Co-operative Women's Guild produced the first white version in 1933.)