In Flanders fields the poppies grow…

People look at the almost complete ceramic poppy art installation by artist Paul Cummins entitled 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' in the dry moat of the Tower of London in London, Sunday Nov. 2, 2014. The finished installation will be made up of 888,246 ceramic poppies, with the final poppy being placed on Armistice Day on November 11. Each poppy represents a British and Commonwealth military fatality from World War I. Thousands of visitors have come to see the installation over the last few days. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

Deborah Catchpole Thursday, November 6, 2014 6:05 AM

At this time of year, the leaves are all falling from the trees, and although I love the myriad of colours that carpet the floor, the colour that I most associate with November is red.

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For as long as I can remember, my mum has collected for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal. It has always been a charity that I have supported, and after the loss in action of someone I knew at school, it is even more at the forefront of my mind. This year, with the centenary of the start of the First World War, the emblem of the poppy has been streamed across the media even more than usual, and The Poppies at The Tower of London have been a real phenomenon. The installation is the work of ceramic artist Paul Cummins, and setting by stage designer Tom Piper. Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red includes one ceramic poppy for every life lost during the First World War. The scale of it is quite astounding, and the tragedy that it representing is totally heartbreaking.

Poppies being a particularly hardy plant, being able to grow in the battle-torn fields of Belgium and France following the war, they soon became an enduring symbol of loss, and remembrance due initially to a poem written by Colonel John McRae, a Canadian doctor serving in the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1915. The red of their petals was of course a stark reminder of the blood that had been shed on both sides.

The first time a poppy was worn as a symbol of remembrance was in fact on 9th November 1918 two days before the war ended; at a meeting of 25 YMCA workers one of the attendees (Moina Mitchell) sent out for 25 poppies so that all could wear one.

The first ever Poppy Day was held on 11th November 1921, when the poppies were obtained from a French organisation, and the proceeds from the sale of them were put towards helping children who lived in the areas that had been ravaged by the war. Since 1922, a factory employing disabled ex-servicemen has produced the poppies. Although there are many other emblems and tokens to show support for various charities, the Poppy seems to have been the most enduring, and the most easily recognised of them all. I cant imagine that this will ever change, with current wars raging across the world, the need to remember becomes greater, rather than fading.

Flowers have long been associated with remembrance, and not just the poppy. Lillies are often seen in churches at funerals, and at Easter time especially. The Victorians had a particular interest in the language of flowers, and the meaning behind the giving of different types of flowers. It is perhaps due to this that the generation who lived after The Great War were so quick to take on the symbolism of the poppy. Forget-me-nots are another flower commonly associated with remembering, but of course none have the widespread meaning that the poppy has.

Although I have always associated poppies with remembrance, the installation at the Tower of London has made me think about why we so often use flowers to mark occasions. Flowers are so often sent to funerals - various wreaths and floral tributes of all different kinds are given to show the loss or a certain memory that the mourner wants to depict with flowers - perhaps something that the deceased has particularly enjoyed during life. It is increasingly common practice for flowers to be left at sites of fatal accidents and other deaths

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In Flanders fields the poppies grow...