Let's Avoid Making the Humble Poppy a Far-Right Symbol
Perhaps I have been living under a stone, but I had no idea, nor had my friends and acquaintances, that the symbolic poppy has been taken over by the far right. Neil Mackay wrote about this in his article, “The poppy has been hijacked by the far right – this is why I won’t wear it” (November 6).
A Personal Account of War and Sacrifice
My recently deceased father survived the Normandy landings. His father was wounded at Passchendaele by a shell and evacuated to the Netley receiving hospital on Southampton Water. Despite his injuries, he refused to have his legs amputated and eventually returned to Passchendaele to fight again, enduring harsh weather while wearing his kilt.
When he passed away, he still carried shrapnel dangerously close to his spine and had a hole in his buttock large enough to fit a fist.
Enduring Legacy of War
My mother’s boyfriend was lost with all hands when HMS Kite was torpedoed in 1944, a fact my father had only recently shared. This loss deeply affected her throughout her life. Such stories illustrate the dedication and resilience of those who went to war to protect our democracy and country.
“Lest we forget.”
My father instilled in us the importance of supporting the Earl Haig Fund and wearing the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. I vividly recall him standing to attention with tears in his eyes during the minute’s silence every year on the eleventh day of the eleventh hour of the eleventh month.
Author's summary: The poppy is a poignant symbol of sacrifice and remembrance that should remain free from extremist associations, honoring the true spirit of those who served.