Poppies

Field of poppies.

The red Poppy is commonly associated with Armistice or Remembrance Day (11 November).

During World War 1, the Flanders Poppies were one of the first plants to be seen growing on the battlefields of northern France and Belgium, after the devastation of war. After 1918, the poppy came to symbolise the sacrifice of shed blood and poppies were sold to raise money for returned servicemen's charities. According to soldiers' folklore, the poppies' vivid red colouring comes from the blood of fallen soldiers.

Today, the Returned Services League (RSL) continues to sell poppies on Remembrance Day in order to raise funds for welfare work.

For more on the Flanders Poppy, read 'In Flanders fields' (located on the Australian War Memorial web site), a poem by John McCrae.