Wearing a white poppy

Beautifully written sentiments.

Oh, Bluebelle, yes. I do agree.
I have been away from Gransnet for some weeks, and on returning, noticed the unpleasant, minatory tone some prolific posters have adopted, no matter what the subject of the post.

I do not think that people on here are "arguing" in a derogatory use of that word. They are just setting out their reasoning for their choice of poppy or none.

I choose mostly not to wear one at all, but when I do it is white. Like many others I am not comfortable giving money to an organisation that accepts funding from arms sellers.

[white poppy]

Poppy

Agree with above.

And very well said Chewbacca

Well said, BlueBelle.

BlueBelle I couldn't agree with a post more. The constant carping of I'm right therefore you are wrong on just about every subject under the sun, is utterly depressing, but especially so where the subject is how we remember those who have died in conflict.

What Bluebell said.
Live and let live. Wear your red or white poppy if you want to. Don't wear a poppy if you prefer not to.
At this time of year I think of my British father who fought in Africa, my English family who lived through the blitz, my Italian family who risked their lives to save a young Jewish boy.
The many, many young men and women of the former empire and those who escaped from occupied territories volunteered to fight and support us as well as those from other parts of the world and of course all the civilians who suffered.
You don't need to fasten a poppy to your chest to show you remember all the victims of conflict, wherever it may be. You can do it quietly, at any time.

I don't wear a poppy for any particular reason other than for my great uncle who died on the Somme. I will remember him and his ilk wherever they might have been. I especially would not like to be seen to wear one to promote any political opinion or protest.

Trisher, you cannot know who is aware & who is not.
But it’s is good that facts are now more available,
I wear my poppy for the young men who never had the chance to understand the whys & wherefores, rights or wrongs .

I don't object to anyone wearing a red poppy. I would prefer them to be aware of its history and of the way the RBL has changed. It's amazing though how many object to the white poppy the money from which of course is used to develop peace initiatives something which I think the WW1 dead would prefer to militarism.

I wore a white poppy for many years, bought from the Peace Pledge Union, saying whenever challenged that tho I was proud of the war dead I didn't think they could be very proud of us and our profits from the arms trade.
I now realise tho that the longevity of the PPU (may have the name slightly wrong myself) isn't widely known and that white poppies are seen as yah-booing. So I now think it would be better to bend with the wind and choose another day.

My son and his lovely girlfriend have been visiting from Prague where they both live.
His girlfriend had never visited the UK before, she is from Azerbaijan.
She wore a poppy and visited a local church to see the remembrance display.
She was so touched that we take time to remember the brave men and women that have fought for our freedom.
It made me feel proud to be British.
I will always wear a red poppy with pride.
The British Legion and the Commonwealth War graves Commision are charities I will always support.

Oopsminty, My mother also lived in Bethnal-green
They caught a partial hit .
As a child if it thundered, or a plane flew overhead my gran would make us sit under the stairs until it passed.

I agree Bluebelle, well said, we cannot change the past , but we can learn from it , & that means letting go of stuff we cannot alter , we would have to go back to the beginning of time to do that !
But If Gransnet is anything to go by , it could take some while ?

Bluebelle??

Bluebell, no need to apologise for a rant. But I would recommend you stop looking at Facebook - that way madness lies.

Very sad that people see fit to argue.

My mother too was a child in London. Her parents never went to Air Raid shelters. Her father said if they were going to go, they'd go in their home.

This was fortuitous. The Bethnal Green disaster was close to where she lived.

She lost many neighbours and friends.

It was hushed up at the time.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35938274

My father was a Scot's Guard in WWII. He fought and survived. So many didn't.

They are both now dead.

I'm sat here, watching the service and remembering them.

They always wore red poppies. I do too.

We are lucky to live in a country where we can wear whatever colour poppy we want and criticise whoever we want.

I have no problem with whatever colour poppy people wear. However, as the RBL only sell red poppies who pockets the money made from all the other colours - do they make a donation to the RBL which does so much to help ex service personnel?

And every year people wear whatever shade of poppy focusses their own thoughts and remembrances. The choice is theirs, there is no need to wear what focusses someone else's memory.

The traditional red poppy flourished in the broken earth of civilian fields and gap sites in the city where bombs had dropped and civilians died, as well as in the ravaged battlefields. You could wear the cornflowers or moon daisies or corn cockles that flowered beside the poppies. Poppies also come in purple or pink, just as prolific, and there are yellow and orange ones too as well as white. They all spring up in damaged earth, and how about purple buddleia, that other plant of derelict places?

No need even to wear a poppy at all, unless you wish to be seen to be remembering. If you remember without advertising it, does that negate your remembrance?

Bluebell ?????????????????x a million

Especially when into her 90s my mum started to finally talk about the blitz and the people she knew who died in the bombing-all civilians.