British Legion Statement

Jen, I have decided not to wear one because I have no wish to have any connection with a smug, holier than thou , I am a pacifist. May I remind you during the two world wars quakers were on the front line working with the injured , they didn't think they were superior to the men who died.

No more to say on this, sorry posters.

Just reminding people what the armed forces are for.
My brother, brother in law and sister were all in the army.
My brother was in Aden, Northern Ireland, the first Iraq war.
My brother in law was in the Falklands.

They all knew what they were signing up for.
They respect me for being a pacifist.

And you decry their choice to defend this country

The fact that RN forces are being belligerent is not surprising, is it, as that is what they are there for. No, they are not being belligerent, nor are they there to be belligerent. They are there to deter, and to respond to, belligerence from others. I’m out too. Not worthy of my time,

If durhamjen is on something......then I don’t want it.?
Seriously though durhamjen you are confusing two things here.
The armed forces do know what they have signed up for, to fight for the protection and interest of our country and often other countries, and we all know that if they hadn’t during the second world war, we would very likely be speaking German now.
That doesn’t make them ‘warmongers’ , rather their job is to keep the peace ( which a warship strategically placed often does.) But fight when necessary.

I have started a thread on ' they know what they signed up for" if anyone wants to discuss it. Let's get back to poppy wearing

The red poppy is worn for remembrance and for the hope of peace in the future.

I will not argue the pros and cons of red, white, purple or any colour poppies because servicemen died for our freedom which freedom gives us the choice to wear whatever one we wish.

This comes up every year. I do not wear a red poppy because my father refused to do so. He was in Singapore during the war and probably saw things that stayed with him all his life - I do not know what they were, he would not say.

I do not wear one out of respect for his memory.

I sometimes wear a white one.

Why are they selling poppies, Mummy?
Selling poppies in town today.
The poppies, child, are flowers of love.
For the men who marched away.

But why have they chosen a poppy, Mummy?
Why not a beautiful rose?
Because my child, men fought and died
In the fields where the poppies grow.

But why are the poppies so red, Mummy?
Why are the poppies so red?
Red is the colour of blood, my child.
The blood that our soldiers shed.

poppyThe heart of the poppy is black, Mummy.
Why does it have to be black?
Black, my child, is the symbol of grief.
For the men who never came back.

But why, Mummy are you crying so?
Your tears are giving you pain.
My tears are my fears for you my child.
For the world is forgetting again.

The red poppy is of course, worn for Remenbrance Day, but also it makes money for The British Legion who donate it to good causes connected with servicemen.

I don't want to get embroiled in this conversation except to say that I and family always wear a red poppy. My stepfather was a POW in the Far East, captured at the fall of Singapore. He never spoke of it until he knew he was dying of cancer after my mother had died, then he quietly chatted more to himself than us. He and my mother always wore their poppies, it was just what they did. I wear mine for him and thousands like him and for my father who was killed, and the 55.00 (round figure) who, like him, lost their lives in Bomber Command. After remembrance Sunday my poppy gets sent to the Netherlands to be placed, by my lovely Dutch friends, on his grave. This crew and one other, were buried locally by the Germans on Christmas Eve 1942 with full military honours! How strange is that?! Proof that they weren't all evil Nazis?

Does the money from white poppies go to the British Legion or somewhere else?

My family and I always wear a red poppy - we always keep the 2 minutes' silence - it's to remember and honour those young men and women who died for future generations - for us - they sacrificed their lives - and the November 11th commemoration is held "lest we forget" that sacrifice.

I have worn a red and white together for years but am now concerned the red poppy is thought by some not to be a symbol of remembrance AND peace , we all want peace so I will now wear only the red. Those boys and men went to their deaths to protect us.