We gave a special mention to all the animal friends who came along (we had two beautiful horses, an abundance of dogs, and even a chicken). On Friday 24 February 2023 at 11am we held our Purple Poppy Day service outside the Museum at our War Animals Memorial. To love unconditionally, to serve unquestionably… They were the animals. Our mascot for Purple Poppy Day 2023 was Scout Sergeant Major Paddy. On Purple Poppy Day, 24 February each year, the National Army Museum Te Mata Toa remembers and honours the animals that have served (and still do serve) in war and conflict. Let us remember these brave animals, their deeds, and their sacrifices. ![]() As a way to commemorate the animals that have served and those that continue to, you can wear a purple poppy. It is estimated that more than 8 million animals sacrificed their lives in World War I alone. It symbolises all animals who have served and/or died during conflict. The RSL sells millions of red cloth poppies with proceeds going towards raising funds for welfare work.Most people are unaware that as well as the traditional commemorative red poppy there is also the purple poppy. ![]() They are an exact replica in size and colour of the poppies that bloom in Flanders’ Fields. Today, cloth poppies are sold on, or around, 11 November each year. Firstly, in memory of the sacred dead who rest in Flanders’ Fields. Secondly, to keep alive the memories of the sacred cause for which they laid down their lives and thirdly, as a bond of esteem and affection between the soldiers of all Allied nations and in respect for France, our common battleground. "The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia and other Returned Soldiers Organisations throughout the British Empire and Allied Countries have passed resolutions at their international conventions to recognise the Poppy of Flanders' Fields as the international memorial flower to be worn on the anniversary of Armistice Day.”Īustralians wear a Red Poppy on Remembrance Day for three reasons. The League adopted the idea in 1921, announcing: The Red Poppy was adopted as that emblem and since then has been accepted as the Emblem of Remembrance. In England in 1919, the British Legion sought an emblem that would honour the dead and help the living. In soldiers’ folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground. Worn on Remembrance Day (11 November) each year, the red poppies were among the first to flower in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium in the First World War. The Red Poppy has special significance for Australians. What is the significance for Australians? At the second battle of Ypres in 1915, when in charge of a small first-aid post, he wrote in pencil on a page from his despatch book, a poem that has come to be known as 'Flanders' Field' which described the poppies that marked the graves of soldiers killed fighting for their country. McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. He was buried in the cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain. ![]() A young friend and former student, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, was killed on 2 May. ![]() Whilst serving in the First World War, one death in particular affected the then Major McCrae. Trooper Pulanco places a red poppy next to the names of the cavalry soldiers killed during World War Two at the Australian War Memorial.Ĭanadian Colonel John McCrae first described the Red Poppy, the Flanders’ poppy, as the flower of remembrance.
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