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A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to give financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the armed forces.Inspired by the war poem "In Flanders Fields" and promoted by Moina Michael, they were first used near the end of World War I to commemorate British Empire and United States military casualties of the war. Madame Guérin established the first "Poppy Days" to raise funds for veterans, widows, orphans, liberty bonds, as well as charities such as the Red Cross.Remembrance poppies are most commonly worn in Commonwealth countries, where it has been trademarked by veterans' associations for fundraising. Remembrance poppies in Commonwealth countries are often worn on clothing in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day, with poppy wreaths also being laid at war memorials on that day. However, in New Zealand, remembrance poppies are most commonly worn on Anzac Day.The red remembrance poppy has inspired the design of several other commemorative poppies that observe different aspects of war and peace. In France, a bleuet de France is worn instead of a remembrance poppy to commemorate military personnel who died in war. Origins References to war and poppies in Flanders can be found as early as the 19th century, in the book The Scottish Soldiers of Fortune by James Grant: The Scots in Holland and Flanders: At Neerwinden, in 1693, the brigade again suffered heavy loss, and William was compelled again to give way before the white-coated infantry of France with the loss of 10,000 men. "During many months after", wrote the Earl of Perth to his sister (as quoted by Macaulay), "the ground was strewn with skulls and bones of horses and men, and with fragments of hats, shoes, saddles, and holsters. The next summer the soil, fertilised by 20,000 corpses, broke forth into millions of scarlet poppies." The opening lines of the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields" refer to Flanders poppies growing among the graves of war victims in a region of Belgium. The poem is written from the point of view of the fallen soldiers and in its last verse, the soldiers call on the living to continue the conflict. The poem was written by Canadian physician John McCrae on 3 May 1915 after witnessing the death of his friend and fellow soldier the day before. The poem was first published on 8 December 1915 in the London-based magazine Punch. 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 the poem. She published a poem of her own called "We Shall Keep the Faith" in 1918. In tribute to McCrae's poem, she vowed to always wear a red poppy as a symbol of remembrance for those who fought in and assisted with the war. At a November 1918 YMCA Overseas War Secretaries' conference, she appeared with a silk poppy pinned to her coat and distributed twenty-five more poppies to attendees. She then campaigned to have the poppy adopted as a national symbol of remembrance. At its conference in 1920, the National American Legion adopted the poppy as their official symbol of remembrance. Frenchwoman Madame Guérin was invited to address American Legion delegates at their 1920 Cleveland Convention about "Inter-Allied Poppy Day". After the convention, the American Legion too adopted the poppy as its memorial flower and committed to support Madame Guérin in her planned U.S. Poppy Day. It was also following this event that the American Legion christened Madame Guérin as "The Poppy Lady from France". Madame Guérin successfully organized the U.S.'s first nationwide Poppy Day during the week before Memorial Day in May 1921 using silk poppies made by the widows and children of the devastated regions of France. When the American Legion stopped using the poppy symbol in favor of the daisy, Veterans of Foreign Wars' members supported Madame Guérin instead. Using French-made poppies purchased through her, the V.F.W. organized the first veterans' Poppy Day Drive in the US, for the 1922 Memorial Day. In 1924, the Veterans of Foreign Wars patented the Buddy Poppy (original name).Madame Guérin's "Inter-Allied Poppy Day" idea was also adopted by military veterans' groups in parts of the British Empire. After the 1921 Memorial Day in the US, Madame Guérin traveled to Canada. After she addressed the Great War Veteran Association on 4 July, the group also adopted the poppy emblem as well as "Inter-Allied Poppy Day" concept. They were the first veterans of the British Empire (predecessor of the Commonwealth of Nations) to do so.Madame Guérin sent Colonel Moffat (ex-American Red Cross) to Australia and New Zealand (and probably South Africa) afterwards as her representative. She then traveled to Great Britain, where she informed Field Marshal Douglas Haig and the Royal British Legion about her idea. Because it was an underfunded organization, Madame Guérin paid for the British remembrance poppies herself and the British Legion reimbursed her after the first British Remembrance Day/Poppy Day on 11 November 1921. By 1921, remembrance poppies had become widely accepted through the Allies of World War I as a flower of remembrance to be worn on Armistice Day. Distribution and use Remembrance poppies are primarily distributed in the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day in several countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. However, in New Zealand, it is distributed in the weeks leading up to Anzac Day. Remembrance poppies are distributed by a national veterans' organisation to commemorate military veterans and to raise funds for veterans' groups and programs. There are several remembrance poppy designs, as several national veterans' organisations produce their own remembrance poppies. However, several Commonwealth countries in the Caribbean, including Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, source their remembrance poppies from the Royal Canadian Legion, through the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League.Although remembrance poppies are predominantly used in the Commonwealth, they are also used to a lesser extent in several other countries. Australia In Australia, cloth and paper remembrance poppies, also called the Flanders poppies, have been distributed by the Returned and Services League of Australia since 1921, as an official memorial flower for Remembrance Day. The practice of wearing a remembrance poppy is generally reserved for Remembrance Day in Australia, and is typically not worn on other holidays that commemorate military veterans, like Anzac Day.Although remembrance poppies are not worn on Anzac Day, its symbolism remains prominent on that holiday, with poppy plants and wreaths are traditionally placed at war memorials. Barbados The first remembrance poppies was dis.... Discover the Poppy St James popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Poppy St James books.