We all know that the poppy has become an international symbol of remembrance, worn throughout November in order to show support for those serving and who served in the Armed Forces. But where did the tradition of the poppy come from?

Poppies weren't chosen as a random flower, they were selected specifically as the symbol of remembrance following the end of the First World War. This conflict lasted from July 1914 to November 1918, coming to an end on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. 

However, the symbol of the poppy was first used during the conflict, specifically in the spring of 1915. A Canadian doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was serving during the war and had lost a friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, while fighting in Ypres. He was asked to conduct the burial service for his friend as the chaplain had been called away.

This incident combined with the sight of poppies growing on the field that was scarred with battle and where so many men had fallen inspired McCrae to write the poem 'In Flanders Field'. This now famous poem references the poppies that grew no matter what.

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.

This poem was ultimately translated into dozens of different languages and struck a chord with people across the world. One person, a US academic named Moina Belle Michael, was particularly taken by the image of the poppies conjured up from the poem. 

She read the poem, which was then titled 'We Shall Not Sleep', in the Ladies' Home Journal in 1918, just before Armistice Day on November 11th. Deciding to 'keep the faith' as the poem said, Ms Michael bought all the artificial poppies she could find in her local department store and started to sell them for people to wear as a mark of remembrance. 

Ms Michael also wrote a response to McCrae's poem:

Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields, Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith Will All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and poppy red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.

Ms Michael ultimately designed her own poppy motif and started to make them out of silk, working hard to have the poppy recognised as a national symbol. It took two years, but she managed it and it ultimately spread to Europe thanks to a French woman named Anne Guerin. 

It was Madame Guerin who saw the potential for the poppy to be sold in order to raise money for those who were affected by the war and so she started to make fabric poppies when she returned to France from the US. She also started travelling to other countries to push the idea of the Memorial Poppy.

Madame Guerin met with Field Marshall Douglas Haig, who wanted to do something to help British veterans who had been left homeless or facing financial hardship after the war. At the time he was the president of the British Legion, which was founded in 1921 and so supported the idea of selling poppies to raise money for veterans. 

The first Poppy Appeal in the UK started in autumn 1921 and saw hundreds of thousands of poppies being sold across Britain. This led to Australia launching its first poppy appeal the same year and New Zealand doing so in 1922. Within four years, six different countries had adopted Remembrance Day and the symbol of the poppy. 

We now wear poppies to remember and commemorate the sacrifices made by those who served not only during WWI and WWII, but also all modern conflicts. The funds go toward helping veterans and their families, providing vital services and allowing people to deal with injury, financial hardship and loss after serving our country. 

Wear yours with pride this Remembrance Day.