To remind you all of this BEFORE the Poppy becomes a divisive symbol

[OneAmusedShark]

That in the First and Second World Wars, literally hundreds as thousands of black and Asian people fought for Britain.

They answered the call, as volunteers, to fight in the trenches side by side with white British soldiers.

Soldiers from Africa, the Caribbean and what is now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs…
they all did their bit.

Winston Churchill is on record praising them. He said “The bravery of Indian soldiers, both Hindu and Muslim, is unparalleled in the history of warfare”,

Don’t forget also the Eastern Europeans who fought the Nazis alongside us,
especially the Polish airmen.

And remember this, when the Americans came over with their segregated units,
and tried to impose segregation in local pubs and cafes near where they were stationed, Churchill refused to assist them.

Remember the Battle of Bamber Bridge where white US military police tried to stop black troops from drinking in certain pubs, and the local British population sided with the black troops.

So if you’re white British, next time you see someone of African, Caribbean or Asian heritage, just remember that their Grandfather or Great Grandfather or Great Great Grandfather may have fought alongside yours in WW1 or WW2.

When we wear the Poppy,
we remember ALL of them and give thanks for their sacrifice.

Women have been left out of memory too. They were only lately allowed to join the march to the Cenotaph.

Absolute rubbish.

Many appear not to know that.

There are, sadly, people in this country who think that anyone with a non-white face should ‘go home’. I would hope that not many of them are on mumsnet, but it is a useful reminder to us to remember the terrible loss of life and suffering shared across ethnicities.

Lots of Irish died in particularly WWI however the poppy is very controversial here due to more recent British military action here.

The poppy is not seen as a universal good, not even for countries with significant participation in British military history.

Nothing is universal. It is naïve to think it is.

I agree with you.

I dont wear one for personal, family related, reasons. I have family who served who respect my choice, so why cant other people?!

I shouldnt have to explain why I am not wearing one above "I dont want to", but as you say it has become expected and a point used to judge whether someone "cares" or not. I dont need to virtue signal to care.

Wear a Poppy. Dont wear one.
Wear a Red one, a White, a Purple, A Black poppy... anything.

But whatever you do, maybe just a minute to remember those who died, who lost husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters etc, who lost their homes and those who survived. Plus those around the world who are still living with war.

And maybe, one day, we won't need poppies anymore as all wars will be a distant memory

(And respect others decisions. People will have their reasons.)

The US army was segregated along racial lines until the early 1950s I believe. The British army was never segregated.

The battle of Bamber Bridge makes for a very interesting story. I'm not totally convinced that the residents supported the black soldiers as they did because they were so incensed by the racism, though. I suspect some of it was 'how dare those effing yanks tell us what to do in our own country?'

Well the 27%who voted YABU so far obviously don't, or want to deny it.

Yeah I couldn’t find anything.
I notice the poster didn’t directly state it, but started a new sentence to give the impression it was true.
Cheeky cheeky.

You may be right there, but the end result was good even if the reasoning wasnt quite as altruistic as some would like to believe!

And to be honest, they kind of do have a point. who the hell did the white americans think they were thinking they could walk into our towns and villages and lay down their own rules?! In MN speak.........what a bunch of CFers!

That's so sad, if it's true.
But many people do still remember it's original meaning, and purpose.
Lest We Forget.

I also live near the National Memorial Arboretum and visit regularly. It is an incredible place to pause and reflect. The Armed Forces Memorial never fails to make my problems pale into insignificance.

I don’t see the poppy as a symbol of war. I do agree that it becomes performative in the press.

I personally feel a huge sense of connection at the solidarity displayed by poppies. I find it comforting that so many people are committed to remembering the service that was given and is still being given by so many.

Both of my grandfathers fought in the trenches in the First World War. I wouldn’t be here now if they hadn’t survived.

I buy a poppy every year to help remember them and imagine what they must have gone through. Neither ever spoke of it.

I’ve always thought of the culture shock the US Black soldiers must have experienced, coming to a country that while obviously had (has) issues with racism, there wasn’t segregation.

I'm not worried - thanks for your shitty response. What makes you think I didn't have family members who died fighting? You're not offsettting anything, you're just being obnoxious. How does me not wearing a poppy mean I don't care about deaths in war? What a brainless conclusion. Do you know which members of my family died during WW2? No you don't. Plenty. You're not superior to me because we have different opinions.

Women marching in what capacity? as I understand it, female veterans and women servicing in the armed forces have always marched, War Widows joined them in 1982 and Women's land Army and the Timber Corps in 2000. The Women's War Memorial was unveiled in 2005

Quite, thank you. All these people saying 'no it isn't' have been asleep for at least the last 50 years.

Leave the bloody Poppy alone fgs. Already trying to take away our right to fly our national flag, and now moving on to the Poppy. Why have we let it get to this??

The big issue is the people are buying poppy stuff from Amazon with no donation to any charity.

I also wear a white poppy. One of my grandfather's was a German Jew, the other fought in the Winter War against the Russians.

Well I didn't know much about it OP so I thank you for this. The only issue I would have is open criticism of people not wearing the poppy. No one should be bullied into wearing any symbol regardless of its meaning IMO

Did you actually read the OP?

I wear my poppy with pride to remember all of the fallen… I also wear a purple poppy which symbolises all animals lost in combat and conflict from the horses in WW1 to police dogs today ( it covers a lot) … we owe them all so much ❤️

Well, aren’t you an absolute treasure. I guess the OP is correct, the poppy is devisive. You strike me as someone that needs a wee lie down from the weight of those chips.

They're the same people (at least around my way) that cable tie flags to lamp posts and go on about protect 'are kids' and 'close are boarders'.