The red poppy Anzac Day

The red or Flanders poppy has been linked with battlefield deaths since WWI and has become a symbol of war remembrance the world over. People in many countries wear the poppy to remember those who died in war or are serving in the armed forces.

The poppy is often worn on Armistice Day (11 November), which is when WWI ended. In New Zealand, however, the poppy is usually seen on Anzac Day, 25 April.

The poppy was one of the first plants to grow and bloom on battlefields in the Belgian region of Flanders after WWI.

The connection was made most famously by a Canadian medical officer, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, in his poem, ‘In Flanders fields’. Distressed at the death and suffering around him, McCrae is said to have scribbled the verses in his notebook.

In a cemetery nearby, red poppies blew gently in the breeze – a symbol of regeneration and growth in a landscape of blood and destruction.

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

Pampered Paws

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.

With thanks to the New Zealand History government website for this material.