Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae was born on 30 November 1872 in Guelph, Ontario. The person who was responsible more than any other for the adoption of the Poppy as a symbol of Remembrance in Canada and the Commonwealth was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again. During the tremendous bombardments of that war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing “popaver rhoes” to thrive. Just prior to the First World War, few Poppies grew in Flanders. This early connection between the Poppy and battlefield deaths described how fields that were barren before the battles exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. There exists a record from that time of how thickly Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. The association of the Poppy to those who had been killed in war has existed since the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. This significance of the Poppy can be traced to international origins. The Poppy also stands internationally as a “symbol of collective reminiscence”, as other countries have also adopted its image to honour those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Since 1921, the Poppy has stood as a symbol of Remembrance, our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations. Each November, Poppies blossom on the lapels and collars of over half of Canada’s entire population. And neither have Canadian’s memories for 117,000 of their countrymen who died in battle. Thanks to the millions of Canadians who wear the flowers each November, the little red plant has never died. In November 1921, the first poppies were distributed in Canada. On her return to France she decided to use handmade poppies to raise money for the destitute children in war-torn areas of the country.

During a 1920 visit to the United States a French woman, Madame Guerin, learned of the custom. Three years later an American, Moina Michael, was working in a New York City YMCA canteen when she started wearing a poppy in memory of the millions who died on the battlefield. John McCrae, the Canadian doctor who wrote the poem IN FLANDERS FIELDS, made the same connection 100 years later, during the First World War, and the scarlet poppy quickly became the symbol for soldiers who died in battle. When the war ended the lime was quickly absorbed, and the poppy began to disappear again. During the tremendous bombardments of that war the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing ‘popaver rhoeas’ to thrive. Prior to the First World War few poppies grew in Flanders. A writer first made the connection between the poppy and battlefield deaths during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, remarking that fields that were barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. History of the Poppy Why was the poppy chosen as the symbol of remembrance for Canada’s war dead? The poppy, an international symbol for those who died in war, also had international origins.

Remembrance poppy leaf