A friend’s colleague came back from some event with a poppy on his lapel. Queried, he said he had no idea why they had distributed the plastic flower at that European company.
Perhaps the host felt everyone was familiar with the reason or else the explanation that might have been offered at the event at some point was missed. Still, I think most Singaporeans are unfamiliar with Remembrance Day which is also known as Veterans Day in the US and Armistice Day in France.
Wikipedia describes Remembrance Day as:
“a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918…. The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November, 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during war.”
“Common British, Canadian, South African, and ANZAC traditions include two minutes of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (11:00 am, 11 November]), as that marks the time (in the United Kingdom) when armistice became effective.”
In Singapore, it is commemorated annually at the Kranji War Memorial.
“In Singapore, this event is of special significance as it commemorates the sacrifices made by the men and women of the Commonwealth forces against the Japanese in World War II. Among those remembered are members of the Singapore Volunteer Corps, the Malay Regiment, Dalforce, Force Z and Operation Rimau.
It is held at the Kranji War Memorial, where the graves of 4,464 men and women lie and the names of 23,943 others are inscribed on the 12 columns. The ceremony is held on Remembrance Sunday (the Sunday closest to Remembrance Day) at 7:30am. Attended by grassroots and religious leaders, uniformed groups, delegations from the SAF, Ex-Services Association of Singapore, SAF Veterans League and Red Cross, the general public and most importantly, the surviving veterans and loved ones, it is a solemn occasion where prayers are held and tributes are paid to the brave men and women who had given their lives in the defence of Singapore.”
– “1919 – Lest We Forget – Remembrance Day 11th November,” by Derek Liew. History Snippets [extracts from “This Month in History”, a publication by the Centre For Heritage Services, Client Services Group of DES (D’eXecutive Services).], 8(11). MINDEF, 2004.
You might have observed BBC presenters wearing the symbolic artificial poppy on their lapels in the days leading to 11th November. The red plastic flowers have been adopted as the symbol of the day and as such, the date is also known as Poppy Day. Its origins are from the poem, “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae, a Canadian military physician.
“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…”
“Rememberance Day, Whitehall [London] 9 Nov 2008,” by Brian Everitt,
via Heather Camp on Flickr blog.
The red colours of the poppies that bloomed across the battlefields of Flanders in World War I were taken to symbolise the blood that gushed from the senseless and tragic deaths of so many young men, during the terrible trench warfare of the time.
I encountered the red poppy when I was quite young and slowly learnt more about World War I from books. It was horrific enough that French town and village names evoke an immediate feeling of commiseration to this day.
Still, reasons for major wars are hardly as straightforward as is superficially depicted and it seems the tragedy of senseless death is doomed to be repeated. But certainly it is harder to remain ignorant in this day and age. E.g. see The World at War (globalsecurity.org) and List of ongoing conflicts (Wikipedia). How many of these were you aware of?
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