Let's avoid making the humble poppy a far-right symbol

Let's Avoid Making the Humble Poppy a Far-Right Symbol

Perhaps I have been living under a stone, but neither I nor my friends realized that the symbolic poppy has been taken over by the far right, as Neil Mackay notes in his article, The poppy has been hijacked by the far right – this is why I won’t wear it (November 6).

A Family's Legacy of Sacrifice

My recently deceased father survived the Normandy landings, while his father was wounded at Passchendaele by a shell. He was evacuated to the Netley receiving hospital on Southampton Water, where he refused to have his legs amputated. After being transferred to 12 other hospitals, he returned to Passchendaele and continued to fight in all weather, wearing his kilt. When he passed away, he still carried a piece of shrapnel dangerously near his spine and had a fist-sized hole in his buttock.

Personal Connections to War Loss

My mother’s boyfriend was lost with all hands when HMS Kite was torpedoed in 1944, a fact only recently shared with me by my father. This loss affected her deeply throughout her life.

Honoring Dedication and Fortitude

Such stories reflect the dedication and resilience of those who fought to protect our democracy and country. My father influenced our commitment to the Earl Haig Fund and the significance of wearing the poppy with the phrase Lest we forget.

"I remember him standing to attention, tears in his eyes for that minute’s silence every year on the eleventh day of the eleventh hour of the eleventh month."

We must keep the poppy's true meaning alive, resisting attempts to politicize this symbol of sacrifice.

Author's summary: The poppy should remain a humble symbol honoring sacrifices in war, not be distorted by political agendas seeking to claim its meaning.

The Herald — 2025-11-07