POPPY DAY

The Royal British Legion provides support to those who have served or are currently serving in the British Armed Forces.

It is best known for its Poppy Appeal which takes place in the weeks leading up to the 11^th of November. This involves the public making a donation to the British Legion and receiving an artificial poppy in return. 

 Remembrance Services take place at 11.00 on the Sunday nearest the 11^th of November and there is a minute silence in supermarkets, in the street etc. Also, before football matches kick-off a minute silence is normally conducted.

During the First World War, poppies grew in the battlefields of Belgium and France and so the poppy now reminds people of the great loss of life caused by the war.

A Canadian soldier called John McCrae wrote a famous poem about the Poppy during the First World War.

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

This Year, FIFA decided to ban the England team from wearing the Poppy during their game against Spain. However, following pressure from the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, FIFA have decided that they can wear the poppy but it must be on a black armband instead of on their chest.