Where have all the Poppies gone?

With next Tuesday bringing the 90th Anniversary of Armistice Day being a pretty significant landmark whichever way you look at it - is it just me but I haven’t noticed a huge amount of people wearing the poppy as yet?

And dare I say it, among young people in particular?

Now call me old fashioned but surely, as we reach landmarks such as these, and ninety years since the end of the Great War is one of the big ones in my view (let alone the fact of our troops currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq) shouldn’t more people than ever be wearing them – not less?

I had a Grandfather that served on the Western Front during World War One that was wounded in the Battle of the Somme and an Uncle that was plucked off the Beaches of Dunkirk. They only just survived the desperate horror of all they experienced fighting these titanic struggles so the poppy has always been something that was more than just a symbol to me – it’s sadness and poignancy is vividly real.

I believe the poppy captures something deeply moving about who we are as a nation and the best of what we stand for as Brits, speaking of deeply committed brave men and women willing to endure the hell of war and lay their lives down unselfishly in service and personal sacrifice for the freedom of our country.

I hope this Remembrance Sunday weekend causes a deeper reflection and going forward a greater number of poppies will be worn proudly. And I’m really hoping our nation as a whole hasn’t slipped into a general malaise of nonchalant apathy towards generations that sacrificed so much for our freedom.

However, I have also been greatly encouraged by the extensive coverage this week the BBC have given over to Armistice Day and from my own personal family interest I particularly enjoyed the Eamonn Holmes episode of “My Family at War” when he visited the Somme battlefield with Historian Joanna Legg to discover his own Grandfathers story.

With only a handful of Great War veterans still with us perhaps it’s now time for a serious re-evaluation as to how we pass the baton of remembrance forward to future generations. How do we build their knowledge and education, so the relevance and importance of reflecting back on and commemorating these monumental moments in History and the lessons learnt aren’t lost for ever?

The current “I want it now” and “Me!” generation I fear have much to lose if this collective memory is wiped from the National conscience.

I will be wearing my poppy with pride this weekend will you?

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Tagged as: armistice day, Great War, Joanna Legg, Remembrance Sunday