RESIDENTS JOUrNAL

RESIDENTS JOUrNAL

In Flanders elds the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, y 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 elds. 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 elds.
IN FlANdERs FiElds BY MAJOR JOHN MCCRAE (1872-1918)

The Poppy Symbol

THE INSPIRATION One of the reasons the poppy has become such an important symbol of remembrance is the iconic World War I poem In Flanders Fields, written by military doctor Major John McCrae in 1915 during the second battle of Ypres. A copy of the poem, hand-written by McCrae himself, is on display at The Poppy Factory.

THE FIGHT TO REMEMBER

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The Pop

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Remember
Them
Each November, Britain remembers those who have given their lives in the service of their country, but the work that goes on at The Poppy Factory in Richmond encompasses a lot more than two minutes of silence. Jennifer Mason takes a trip down to the factory floor to meet the team

WE wILL

The Past
In 1922, Major George Howson MC, an engineer who served on the Western Front in World War I, founded the Disabled Society to help disabled ex-Servicemen and women. The Royal British Legion had launched its Poppy Appeal just the year before, and Howson suggested that his society could make poppies for future appeals. The Legion agreed, and so the owers were adapted so they could be assembled by Founder of The Poppy Factory, Major George someone with a missing hand or Howson (centre front) with colleagues arm. The rst Poppy Factory was on the Old Kent Road, but by 1925 the workforce had grown to such proportions Howson moved the whole outt to new, larger premises in Richmond, still the site of the Poppy Factory today.

Before the Royal British Legion took up the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in 1921, across the pond in America, Moina Belle Michael had been campaigning since 9 November 1918 (two days before the end of World War I) to have the papaver rhoeas (red poppy) adopted in the United States as a national memorial symbol. Moina read McCraes poem in the November edition of the Ladies Home Journal, and his words struck such a cord with her that she pledged to keep the faith with those who had lost their lives during the Great War. At her midday break from the 25th Conference of the Overseas YMCA War Secretaries, Moina went to a local department store and bought 25 silk poppies which she distributed amongst the conference-goers. That day was the rst time a poppy was worn as a symbol of remembrance. In 1920, after years of campaigning, Monia nally persuaded the American Legion to take on the Flanders Fields Memorial Poppy as the United States national emblem of Remembrance. That year, a representative of the French YMCA Secretariat, Anna Gurin, visited the National American Legion convention and was inspired by the poppy symbol. She returned to France and founded the chine ma g ttin cu Poppy petal American and French Childrens League, through which she organised French women, children and war veterans to make articial poppies out of cloth, with the proceeds going towards restoring the war-torn regions of France. In 1921 she sent a delegation of French women to London to sell these cloth owers and Anna herself persuaded Field Marshal Earl Douglas Haig, founder and President of The British Legion, to adopt the Flanders Poppy as an emblem for the Legion. November 1921 saw the rst Remembrance Day poppies sold in London and marked the beginning of the last 92 years of fundraising, thanksgiving and remembrance.

Exterior of The Poppy Factory in Richmond, Surrey

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RESIDENTS JOUrNAL
Crosses planted at the Field of Remembrance in the grounds of Westminster Abbey

The Present
Each November since 1928 at Westminster Abbey, the Poppy Factory sets up the Field of Remembrance, where more than 350 plots for regimental and other associations are laid out in the area between Westminster Abbey and St. Margarets Church. The factory supplies remembrance crosses so that anyone can come and plant one to remember a fallen relative or comrade. This year the Field of Remembrance will be open from 11am on 7 November until 4pm on 17 November.

On 24 October the Duchess of Cornwall was announced as the new Patron of the Poppy Factory

The Future

The grave of the unknown warrior at Westminster Abbey

Picture by Numbers

Ian Lindsay & HM The Queen, November 2012

Although the Poppy Factory is still heavily involved in the manufacturing process of poppies for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal (in particular the more exclusive silk poppies and royal wreaths) it has expanded its enterprise into a more modern direction: nding mainstream employment for disabled exServicemen and women. The factory employs a team of around 40 disabled ex-Servicemen and women or disabled people with a Service connection who work making poppies and wreaths all year round, and nds supportive employers prepared to take on disabled workers, as well as part-funds their rst years work to aid a smooth transition into their new position, both for them and the company they work for. n

From left to right: the Muslim crescent, the non-denominational stick, the Christian cross, the Sikh khanda and the Jewish star

There are several different ways you can get involved in helping the Poppy Factory continue to make a difference to the lives of disabled ex-Servicemen and women across the country. Visit poppyfactory.org or call 020 8940 3305 for more information or to arrange a visit
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12 million  The number of traditional poppies made at the Poppy Factory by hand each year 500,000  of these are made by one man, Ian Lindsay 11.5 million of these are made by home workers 32 million  The number of poppies made at The Royal British Legions Poppy Appeal HQ at Aylesford 1,550,000  The number of other poppies made by the Poppy Factory 978,000  The number of crosses and other religious/secular symbols made at the Poppy Factory 90,000 Wreaths and sprays made each year 3 million  Crpe petals made for the Festival of Remembrance at The Royal Albert Hall