The poppy: a symbol of remembrance
November 10, 2025 - Western Sentinel
“In Flanders fields the poppies blow…”
Those words, written 110 years ago by LCol John McCrae, are ultimately the inspiration for why the red poppy has been the official symbol of remembrance across Canada since 1921.
The red poppy has long been an emblem of conflict in Europe. The plant is native to the region that became the Western Front during the First World War, and even as far back as the Napoleonic Wars of the 19th Century it was viewed as a symbol of death and renewal. Records from the time state poppies were often found in abundance atop the mass graves left behind after battles.
Poppy seeds can lay dormant for years, and will blossom when the soil is disturbed. The artillery barrages of the First World War churned the earth, infusing the chalk soil with lime and creating the conditions for the poppy to bloom in prolific numbers. The resulting sea of red stood out against the torn‑up landscape, and served as a fittingly ironic symbol of the blood spilt by soldiers in what was still only known as the Great War.
Yet even with that history, it took until the First World War had ended for the poppy to truly catch on as a token of remembrance. An early adopter was Moina Michael with the American Overseas YMCA, who began doing so before the War had ended, pledging to “always wear a red poppy of Flanders Fields as a sign of remembrance and the emblem of ‘keeping the faith with all who died.’”
On Nov. 9, 1918, Michael shared her pledge with her colleagues, who joined her in her commemoration.
Over the next few years, Michael continued to wear a poppy, and worked to make it a popular symbol of remembrance. In April 1920, the National American Legion adopted the poppy as its official emblem of remembrance.
Michael’s poppy campaign also took hold across borders and across the Atlantic Ocean. France’s Anne Guérin, like Michael, was inspired by LCol McCrae’s poem and had become a vigorous advocate for the poppy. She started the American and French Children’s League, which sold cloth poppies to raise money for people suffering in war‑torn France, particularly orphaned children.
In 1921, Guérin took the next step in her advocacy and began to push for the poppy to become an official symbol of remembrance in both Britain and Canada. She visited both countries and met with the British Legion and the Canadian Great War Veterans Association (CGWVA)—the precursor to today’s Royal Canadian Legion—to make her pitch.
With the assistance of Jewish‑Canadian philanthropist Lillian Freiman and CGWVA patrons Governor‑General Lord Julian Hedworth George Byng and Lady Marie Evelyn Byng, Canada’s first “poppy day” was Armistice Day, Nov. 11, 1921.
Millions of poppies were brought over from Guérin’s organization in France for the occasion. That donation was supplemented by cloth poppies made by Canadian women, including from members of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire in Winnipeg.
Caption
An undated example of a handmade poppy. First World War veteran James Stanley Taylor, who served with the 14th and 174th Infantry Battalions, donated this poppy to the Canadian War Museum. Veterans' magazines and organizations urged Canadians to buy poppies handmade by veterans which were 'true memorials', as opposed to commercially available copies.
Photo courtesy the Canadian War Museum
Caption
CAF members wearing their poppies at the Peace Memorial Complex in Wainwright, Alta., during the 2023 Remembrance Day ceremony. CAF members wear poppies from the last Friday in October until Remembrance Day.
Photo by Cpl Trevor Pomarenski
Caption
A poppy stands in the middle of a field beside the Bretteville‑sur‑Laize, France, Canadian War Cemetery during a ceremony marking the 70th Anniversary of D‑Day and the Battle of Normandy on June 7, 2014.
Photo by MCpl Marc‑Andre Gaudreault, Canadian Forces Combat Camera
In 1922, lapel‑worn poppies made and distributed by Canadian veterans began to appear.
In 1925, the Royal Canadian Legion was founded and has overseen the poppy campaign in Canada ever since.
In the 110 years since LCol McCrae penned In Flanders Fields during the Second Battle of Ypres in May 1915, the poppy has gone from a flower growing abundant in an otherwise inhospitable landscape to a symbol beseeching Canadians and people around the world to “Never Forget.”
Today, millions of Canadians join Canadian Armed Forces members in wearing poppies from the last Friday in October until Remembrance Day on Nov. 11. The poppy no longer represents remembrance of just the lives lost in the First World War, but also those of the Second World War, the Korean War, the Afghanistan War and the many other conflicts where Canadians have served and lost their lives. Wearing a poppy is a simple gesture, with decades of history and millions of lives giving it weight.
Lest we forget.
Caption
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Ottawa is covered in poppies during the 2019 Remembrance Day ceremony.
Photo courtesy the Royal Canadian Legion
Caption
A poppy is laid on a military grave by a Gunner from 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery after the No Stone Left Alone ceremony at Elmwood Cemetery Cenotaph in Winnipeg, Man., on Nov. 10, 2015.
Photo by MCpl Louis Brunet, Canadian Army Public Affairs