How a 1915 poem by a Canadian doctor led to what we know simply as 'the poppy'.
These days, the red poppy is synonymous with England.
The country has adopted the flower a symbol of bereavement and remembrance for all the soldiers lost in conflicts over the years.
However, the actual origins of the poppy in wartime folklore weren't born out of remembrance, rather they ware born out of desire to finish the job at hand.
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
In Flanders Fields is a war poem which was written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae.
He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and fellow soldier Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, who died in the Second Battle of Ypres.
The poem goes:
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.
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.
Flanders is an area in Belgium and was the scene of a particularly bloody WW1 battle.
Following the destruction, the first thing to grow again in the field and on the graves of the fallen were the native red poppy's.
Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae saw the poppies as a cry from the fallen soldiers to the one's still living to 'finish the job,' this is evident in the final verse of the poem, which is seen as a call to arms.
Although it is the most famous source of the poppy legend, In Flanders Fields is not the first time the poppy has been used to symbolize war.
It's been associated with conflict as far back as the Napoleonic Wars when a writer of that time also noted how the poppies grew over the graves of soldiers.
As you can see, none of the poppy's origins are English.
Initial use.
In 1918, Moina Michael, who had taken leave from her professorship at the University of Georgia to be a volunteer worker for the American YMCA Overseas War Secretaries organization, was inspired by In Flanders Fields and published a poem of her own called "We Shall Keep the Faith.''
In tribute to Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae's poem, she vowed to always wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who fought and helped in the war.
And thus began the tradition of using the poppy to represent the memory of fallen soldiers.
It wasn't until 1921 that the poppy first began to appear in London, when Field Marshal Douglas Haig, a founder of the Royal British Legion began to wear one.
At that same time it was also adopted by veterans' groups in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
It's also interesting to note that the only countries who use the poppy were the "victors" of World War I.
Modern day use.
Being from Australia myself, we were always taught to respect the poppy growing up and but rarely would you see someone wearing one outside of a veterans parade or remembrance service.
However, upon arriving in London a few years back I must admit I was shocked at the sheer scale of it's use.
It seemed to me that it was no longer being used a symbol of remembrance, but as one of power - perhaps that is an incorrect assumption but that's how it appeared.
And indeed the poppy has become somewhat of a symbol of British Imperialism for some, however this shouldn't be the case.
What's important to remember when engaging in discussion about the poppy is that it's not, nor ever was, solely an English tradition.
