The Red Flower of Remembrance

During the First World War, more than 65,000 Canadians died. The fighting and living conditions were very difficult for soldiers. They stayed in cold, wet, muddy trenches in the ground. It was even hard for plants and trees to grow in the blasted battlefields and cemeteries of Europe. Yet the colourful poppy continued to bloom. Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae was a Canadian army doctor. He wrote a poem about these pretty red flowers after his friend was killed in battle in 1915. People still read this popular poem today. In Flanders Fields begins like this:

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row . . .

Canadians have been wearing poppies around Remembrance Day for 90 years. Let’s plant lots of them in our special garden. It will be another neat way to remember the brave men and women who served and died.

Did You Know?

Two quarters with red poppies were made by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate Remembrance Day. In 2004, the thirty million quarters issued were the world’s first coloured circulation coins. The eleven million 2008 coins marked the 90^th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

Peace Springs Up!