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MEDIA RELEASE - TORQUAY RSL
26 October 2023
"Two Reasons to Buy Poppies in November"
Red poppies are about to be on sale in Torquay, but why do we buy them?
Red poppies are bought for two main reasons leading to Remembrance Day, commemorated on 11 November at 11.00 AM.
According to Torquay RSL’s President, retired Squadron Leader Bob Brackin, people buy the poppies as a symbol of remembrance of Australia’s defence personnel who died in war or from war wounds.
“As well, the monies raised from poppy sales in Australia, go towards meeting current and future needs of veterans and their families”, he said.
“Here in Torquay, the community’s support enables us to boost our welfare fund, as well as providing symbols of remembrance of those who fought and died for Australia”.
“It is now 102 years since sales of poppies began to raise funds for needy veterans, wounded veterans and their families,” recalled Mr Brackin.
In Torquay and North Torquay, outside our supermarkets, Bunnings and some other locations, poppies will be on sale in the days before Remembrance Day, when at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, people in towns and cities throughout Australia pause to remember the sacrifices made by so many in times of war.
“It is on Remembrance Day, above all other days, that we recall the women and men who, through personal sacrifices, contributed to the evolution and identity of our country, Australia,” he said.
“We must never forget how much we owe to those who fell in the First World War and in all conflicts since.
“People wearing a red poppy demonstrate to all that we are not forgetting them,” Mr Brackin said.
“ We have a great team of volunteers who have been selling poppies for some years,” he said.
“All money raised from the poppy sales goes towards the RSL’s Welfare Fund,” Mr Brackin reassured the community.
“We would like to see poppies being worn everywhere on Remembrance Day to show that we do remember the sacrifices made, while knowing every dollar raised helps ex-service people and their families when they need assistance.”
Poppies on sale range from $2 to $50 dollars.
“Our aim is to ensure everyone has the opportunity to buy a poppy that they can afford,” Mr Brackin declared.
On Remembrance Day itself, the Torquay RSL has organised a commemoration ceremony at Point Danger, beginning at 10.40 am.
All are invited to commemorate and recognise the service of those who died in conflict, or from their wounds, physical and mental, following their return to Australia.
Why Poppies and Silence?
Observation of silence at 11 am
As a mark of respect to those who have died and suffered, people in Australia are encouraged to stop what they are doing at 11 am to observe one minute’s silence and reflect on the loss and suffering caused by war.
The idea of observing a period of silence was first proposed by Melbourne journalist Edward George Honey, who proposed a period of silence for national remembrance in a letter published in the London Evening News on 8 May 1919.
The suggestion came to the attention of King George V. After testing the practicality of five minutes’ silence – a trial was held with five Grenadier Guardsmen standing to attention for the silence – the King issued a proclamation on 7 November 1919 which called for a two-minute silence. His proclamation requested that "all locomotion should cease, so that, in perfect stillness, the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead".
At 11 am on 11 November 1919, Australians, for the first time, paused and stood in silent tribute to the men and women of the 1st Australian Imperial Force who had died on battlefields in Gallipoli, Europe and in the Middle East.
In 1997, the Governor-General issued a proclamation urging all Australians to observe the one minute silence on Remembrance Day. It is also still appropriate for two minutes’ silence to be observed.
Significance of poppies
Red poppies are often worn on Remembrance Day. The tradition has its origins in a poem written in 1915 by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a doctor in the Royal Canadian Medical Corps. Lieutenant Colonel McCrae noticed that, despite the devastation caused by the war to towns, farms and forests, thousands of small red poppies began growing everywhere in Spring.
This inspired his poem, In Flanders Fields:
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.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
The poem was first published in England’s Punch magazine in December 1915 and within months came to symbolize the sacrifices of all who were fighting in World War One.
In 1918, Moina Michael, an American, wrote a poem in reply, We Shall Keep the Faith, in which she promised to wear a poppy 'in honour of our dead' and so began the tradition of wearing a poppy in remembrance.
It was French YMCA Secretary, Madame Guerin, who in 1918 conceived the idea of selling silk poppies to help needy soldiers.
Poppies were first sold in England on Armistice Day in 1921 by members of the British Legion to raise money for those who had been incapacitated by the war.
The practice began in Australia the same year, promoted by the Returned Sailors' and
Soldiers' Imperial League of Australia (now known as the Returned & Services League of Australia, or RSL).
In the lead-up to 11 November each year, the RSL sells red poppies for Australians to pin on their lapels, with proceeds helping the organisation undertake welfare work.
Since 1921 wearing a poppy has enabled Australians to show they have not forgotten the more than 102,000 Australian servicemen and women who have given their lives in wars and conflicts during the past 100 years.
For Further Information
Lyle Raison or Bob Brackin
Appeals Officer President
Torquay RSL Torquay RSL
Ph: 0439 500 565
Ph: 0419 755 730