why do you wear a poppy?

It's not only 'the oldest people here' who experienced war and bombs in a UK context. The GFA was only passed in the 90s. That's one of the reasons it's so complex for a lot of people. As pp mentioned, Soldier F is a current example.

I wear one to remember all those who have died in war.

DH was in the RAF for 35yrs, 27 of which we were married for. I’ve seen men go away and not come home, or come home as completely different people, so I wear it for them. DS1 is, also, a serving soldier.

I’ll always wear a poppy, the Royal British Legion do great work for veterans, serving members of the armed forces and their families, however I’m totally against enforced poppy wearing. That completely takes away the point of them imo.

She's literally trying to learn via this thread.

Lest we forget.

To remember that all war has a horrible price. Paid by both combatants and civilians. Paid by both sides. If people remember this, perhaps they will make efforts to avoid more wars <hopes>

It is a shame that some people try to make the poppies political.

100% this. ^

Wearing poppies is one thing.

Decorating vans, lamp posts, houses, post boxes with tasteless poppy tat is pretty grim and shows how far away from remembrance we actually are now. I don’t wear a poppy because of this drift into fetishisation of war, and the treatment of war as some kind of nostalgia trip.

My father was in the army until 1952 and on active service abroad through most of WW2. My parents married in 1939, a couple of weeks before he was posted. My surviving siblings and I were born after the war. My mother could so easily have been a war widow, her sister’s husband was killed in Sicily and has only a cross in a mass cemetery.

Lest we forget…

Lots of people have explained the history, perhaps what also needs to be understood is the emotion. I would guess most of the people you see wearing poppies are older. They will have some close connection with WW1 or 2. I had great uncles who served and died in WW1 and my parents’ generation went through WW2. We’ve heard their stories and know what they went through for us to be free.

It’s in no way a celebration of anything to wear a poppy, but rather a collective acknowledgement of what we owe to those who lost their lives in pursuit of our freedom.
FWIW, like many of my generation I didn’t wear poppies when I was younger but as I get older and see the way the world currently is I understand the sacrifice more now than I ever did.

To remember the dead and wounded and bereaved. WW1 tore the heart out of this country.

This is my view too. I don’t wear one anymore, as I don’t like the hijacking of the symbol that has gone on, and don’t want to get into a debate with people with different motives, and views about it. If you want to give to a Forces charity you can do that without this unwelcome pressure from the Poppy Police.

Remembrance day, and the symbols connected to it, in the UK has never been any support or celebration of our armed forces. It has always been about the personal sacrifice made by those involved in wars. I would encourage you OP to attend a local ceremony to understand this, and perhaps take a moment to consider those you know involved in war and the sacrifice they are making.

I know I stand there and think of my grandfather, who served as a ships steward on a small navy vessel but made it home. Also of two people I know only by name on a family tree, who are direct relations, but never made it out of WW1 alive. I also consider the four colleagues of mine who are married to service people or who are reservists.
It makes me sad and thankful.

@ReignOfError except OP knows enough about the UK to drop in a reference to ‘naice’ areas and innocently ask if this is a class issue. That is surely an attempt to wind people up.

Just to add- those posting about why they choose not to wear the poppy are also explaining their personal choice. I completely respect their well considered reasoning.

We don’t always have to descend into culture wars and this thread is a great example of the civility and respect we have for different points of view in the UK. I don’t buy into the media’s attempt to create an issue about this and am really proud of our culture of respect in the UK which most people do demonstrate.

No money raised from the poppy appeal goes to the armed forces. The British Legion is not (and never has been) part of the armed forces, it’s a charity that exists to support ex-service personnel and their families which is where the funds raised from the appeal go.

I do not wear one. The more people insist that sports people, actors, politicians MUST wear one at all times the more I don’t want to. Enforced, performative signalling is a massive turn off.

‘Lest we forget’

the war to end all wars - it is to commemorate the ultimate sacrifice of lives put down in order for us to have our future, to stand as a reminder to avoid wars like these again.

‘For their tomorrow, they gave our today’

It’s interesting how many people don’t appreciate that it’s very difficult to understand the cultural nuances of a different country. FWIW, OP, as the wife of an immigrant, and former immigrant myself, don’t believe you’re being goady, and I commend you for trying to dive a bit deeper than just what the poppy officially stands for in this country.

I am married to a Vietnam-era veteran. The poppy doesn’t at all have the symbolic meaning for him that it had for many British people. Nonetheless, he wears one as a mark of respect for a combination of those who have died and been injured in wars, and for the cultural practices of his adopted country.

I, born and bred in the UK, grandchild of men who fought in both wars, and women who nursed and worked through the blitz, niece to someone who at 14 was trapped in a bombed building holding her best friend’s hand as she died, do not. I used to, but in recent years, there has been a shift in attitudes to condemning those, particularly public figures, who don’t wear them for at least a week before Remembrance Sunday/Day, and I resent that very much. I do donate but don’t take a poppy.

100% this. ^

OP apparently moved here ‘after the pandemic’ so I’m guessing some years now. Surely in that time she would have learned about what the poppy means as it’s heavily featured in the media at this time every year. I think she or he is just trying to create an argument between those who choose to wear it and those who don’t.

But it isn’t working because most people respect the decision of others to wear the poppy or not to wear it. As this thread demonstrates beautifully, wearing the poppy is a personal thing and no one is judging anyone else.

I am also of the older generation on this thread . . . I can remember the air raid sirens being tested every few months when I was at school. Also, there was a military base near us and I hated seeing all the tanks and military equipment lined up. The other thing I remember was the lack of railings as they had all been removed to the iron could be turned into military hardware. My older siblings had ration books when they were babies & toddlers

We really must never, ever forget what the service personnel and civilians endured during those terrible years of 1939 - 1945

That’s just not true. The way it gets to veterans is via the RBL. All the money goes to the RBL who offer support to veterans, serving personnel and their families. It in no way funds the armed forces or future war.

One of the bests posts on here.

I honour the sacrifice made by veterans of world war 2 in particular, fighting Nazis, but cannot wear a red poppy since the money goes to ex service people, some of who will have fought in wars I don't agree with, eg Iraq and Afghanistan.