Many countries have a special day to remember their wars. America has Veterans day, while France has Armistace Day. The British commemorate those who fought, and are still fighting, in wars for their country on Remembrance day.

The British Remembrance day is always held on the 11th November. This is the day that World War One ended in 1918, when the armistice was signed in Compiegne, Northern France, at 5am. Six hours later, the fighting stopped, and to commemorate this there is a two minute silence at 11am on every 11th November.

As well as the two minute silence, there are marches around the country by War veterans, and the Royal family, along with leading politicians, gather at the Cenotaph, a war memorial in London.

The nearest sunday to the 11th is called Remembrance Sunday, when church services are held in honour of those involved in wars, and wreaths are laid on the memorials which have a place in every town. Many two-minute silences, depending on the location, are broken by a lone bugler when they finish, reminiscent of times of war when trumpets were as much a part of battle as bayonets. Often a poem called 'For the Fallen' is read aloud. The author, Laurence Binyon, was never a soldier but nethertheless he appreciated the horrors of war. The poem is still in copyright, but is featured on many internet sites.

Remembrance day is taken very seriousely, with disrespect being avoided at all costs¹. If November the 11th falls on a weekday, schools², workplaces and shopping centres all attempt to observe the silence, although some people choose to ignore their attempts and go about their business regardless.

Poppies

Rememberance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans, although they do not have a fixed price- they rely on donations.

The motto of the British Legion is Remember the dead; don't forget the living, and they are campaigners for issues relating to war veterans, especially elderly ones.

The poppies are worn because in World War One the Western Front contained in the soil thousands of poppy seeds, all lying dormant. They would have lied there for years mroe, but the battles being fought there churned up the soil so much that the poppies bloomed like never before. The most famous bloom of poppies in the war was in Ypres, a town in Flanders, Belgium, which was crucial to the Allied defence. There were three battles there, but it was the second, which was calamatous to the allies since it heralded the first use of the new Chlorine gas the Germans were experimenting with, which brought forth the poppies in greatest abundance, and inspired the Canadian soldier, Major John McCrae, to write a very famous poem, which in turn inspired the British legion to adopt the poppy.

In Flanders Fields


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.


John McCrae (1872-1918)

The tragic events of 11 September 2001 left more and more people feeling more strongly than ever about peace, prompting manufacture of white poppies to represent peace. They are not a new idea - in fact they date from 1933, having been designed by a UK Womens Guild. The British Legion was invited to produce them twice, in 1933 and 1988, but they not only declined, they also refused to accept the proceeds from them, because they were seen as disrespectful by some soldiers. They are having a surge in popularity once again as people stop feeling as safe as they once did.