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White poppy

January 01, 1970

The white poppy is a flower used as a symbol of peace, worn either in place of or in addition to the red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day or Anzac Day.

Artificial poppies placed as Anzac Day tributes on a cenotaph in New Zealand; mostly Papaver rhoeas marketed by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, with a lone White Poppy
White poppy
(Arctomecon merriamii)

History edit

United Kingdom edit

In 1926, a few years after the introduction of the red poppy in the UK, the idea of pacifists making their own poppies was put forward by a member of the No More War Movement (as well as the proposal that the black centre of the British Legion's red poppies should be imprinted with "No More War").[1][2] Their intention was to remember casualties of all wars, with the added meaning of a hope for the end of all wars; the red poppy signified only the British military dead.[3] However, they did not pursue the idea.[1] The first white poppies were sold by the Co-operative Women's Guild in 1933.[4] The Peace Pledge Union (PPU)[5] took part in their distribution from 1936, and white poppy wreaths were laid from 1937 as a pledge to peace that war must not happen again.[1][6] Anti-war organisations such as the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship now support the White Poppy Movement.[2]

Those who promote the wearing of white poppies argue that the red poppy also conveys a specific political standpoint, and point to the divisive nature of the red poppy in Northern Ireland, where it is worn mainly by unionists but boycotted by Irish republicans.[7]

Sales of white poppies steadily rose throughout the 2010s, often causing supporters of the PPU to become targets of abuse. On 1 November 2018 sales of white poppies were higher than in any previous year since white poppies were founded in 1933. As of 7 November 2018, 119,555 white poppies had been sold. The final figure was 122,385. The previous record was 110,000 white poppies in 2015. Until 2014, the record was around 80,000 in 1938.[8][9][10]

In 2018, St John Ambulance in England allowed its volunteers to wear white poppies for the first time.[11][12]

Those who endorse the white poppy campaign include actor Mark Rylance,[13] poet Benjamin Zephaniah[14] and rapper Lowkey.[15][better source needed]

Children's author Michael Morpurgo described his decision to wear a white poppy alongside his red one in a Radio Times article:

"Wearing the red poppy for me is not simply a ritual, not worn as a politically correct nod towards public expectation. It is in honour of them, in respect and in gratitude for all they did for us. But I wear a white poppy alongside my red one, because I know they fought and so many died for my peace, our peace. And I wear both side by side because I believe the nature of remembrance is changing, and will change, as the decades pass since those two world wars."[16]

New Zealand edit

In New Zealand, a White Poppy Annual Appeal has been run since 2009 by Peace Movement Aotearoa in the week preceding Anzac Day, with all proceeds going to White Poppy Peace Scholarships.[17] The appeal was controversial for some, with Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins describing the white poppy appeal as "incredibly disrespectful to those who served their country".[18]

White poppies have also been worn in New Zealand to mark Remembrance Day. In previous years, the annual white poppy appeal was run as a fundraiser for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament around the time of Hiroshima Day in August. Responsibility for organising the annual appeal was transferred to Peace Movement Aotearoa, as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in New Zealand closed down in 2008.[17]

Controversies edit

 
White poppy wreath at The Cenotaph, Whitehall in 2018, the centenary of the end of the First World War

The Royal British Legion has no official opinion on the wearing of white poppies, stating that it "is a matter of choice, the Legion doesn't have a problem whether you wear a red one or a white one, both or none at all",[19] and that it defends the right to wear different poppies.[20]Opponents[21] of the white poppy argue that the traditional red poppy already encompasses the sentiments claimed for the white poppy, such as "remembering all victims of war", and consider that it undermines the message of remembrance. Some Irish nationalists "see the poppy as representing the army that denied them independence in the 1920s and that returned in the late 1960s, bringing with it such events as Bloody Sunday."[22] In the 1930s, when the white poppy was first established, some women lost their jobs for wearing them.[23] Others are concerned that the money raised by the white poppy appeal may affect the funds raised for the Royal British Legion by the red poppy appeal.[24]

In 1986, John Baker, Bishop of Salisbury, stated in his diocesan newsletter that he had been asked about the appropriateness of the white poppy. Baker responded "let's not be hurt if we see a white poppy...there is plenty of space for red and white to bloom side by side."[25] Salisbury MP Robert Key disagreed, and later that year asked British prime minister Margaret Thatcher her opinion on the issue. Thatcher expressed her "deep distaste" for the symbol during prime minister's questions.[26] In response, the White Poppy campaign received much media coverage in Britain.[25] The Daily Star ran several articles criticising the White Poppy campaign.[25] In The Guardian, artist Steve Bell published a cartoon satirising Thatcher's opposition to white poppies, which he allowed the Peace Pledge Union to republish.[25]

In November 2014, white poppy wreaths on the Aberystwyth War Memorial had to be replaced after they were removed from the Memorial and thrown in a bin.[27] There were similar reports of a white poppy wreath being removed from war memorials in Bath in 2018.[28]

In 2018, UK Conservative MP Johnny Mercer tweeted that he thought white poppies were "attention seeking rubbish".[20] Mercer's comments led to widespread media debate around the appropriateness of white poppies, with the Peace Pledge Union later crediting Mercer's comments as being responsible for the record level of sales that year.[10] Mercer repeated these views in 2019, after being appointed as Minister for Defence People and Veterans in Boris Johnson's government, accusing white poppy wearers of “hijacking symbolism for their own ends”.[29] His comments led to an open letter from multiple military veterans and the organisations that support calling on Mercer to apologise for his comments, and instead "spend energy on addressing homelessness and mental health among ex-servicemen and women".[29]

In 2022 Scottish National Party politician, Michelle Thomson MSP, sparked controversy over wearing a homemade white poppy with a "Yes!" logo in the centre. Critics accused Thomson of being “tacky and tasteless” by using a commemorative poppy to campaign for Scottish independence. Thomson claimed that she had used the "Yes!" pin to secure the poppy to her lapel after her poppy "fell apart over the weekend", and that she had not intended to cause any offence.[30][31]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Usborne, Simon (4 November 2016). "The great 'poppy war': how did we get here?". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  2. ^ a b Basu, Srabosti (10 November 2017). "The Argument for the White Poppy". Affinity Magazine. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  3. ^ "White Poppies for Peace". Ppu.org.uk. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  4. ^ Iggulden, Amy. "British Legion reaches a truce with the white poppy movement". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Remembrance Sunday : Services for Peace a resource from Fellowship of Reconciliation and Peace Pledge Union" (PDF). Ppu.org.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  6. ^ "The Big Question: Why are we asked to wear a poppy, and is its". The Independent. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  7. ^ John Montgomery, quoted in the Irish News, 10 November 1986, p.1
  8. ^ "White poppy sales hit new record ahead of Armistice centenary – Co-operative News". Thenews.coop. 9 November 2018.
  9. ^ "White poppy sales break all records | Peace Pledge Union". Ppu.org.uk. 8 November 2018.
  10. ^ a b O'Leary, Miles (8 November 2018). "White Poppy sales hit record high following Plymouth MP's comments". PlymouthLive. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  11. ^ "White 'pacifist' poppies allowed by St John Ambulance for first time in its history". The Independent. 15 October 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  12. ^ Robert Booth (15 October 2018). "St John Ambulance to let volunteers wear white remembrance poppy". The Guardian.
  13. ^ Ross, Tim (31 December 2012). . Archived from the original on 1 January 2013.
  14. ^ Zephaniah, Professor Benjamin (30 October 2012). "(a poem with white poppy)". Ppu.org.uk. Rise above the wars / The folly of endless fight, / Let's try making love, / Let's make our poppies white.
  15. ^ "The White Poppy for Peace Campaign". Facebook.com. 10 November 2018. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Hip Hop artist Lowkey is wearing a white poppy
  16. ^ "Michael Morpurgo: Why I'll be wearing two poppies this Remembrance Day". Radio Times.
  17. ^ a b 2009 White Poppy Annual Appeal on Scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 25 April 2009
  18. ^ Hank Schouten and Paul Easton (21 April 2010). "Rival poppy campaign angers veterans". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  19. ^ Brown, Jonathan (11 November 2006). "Red, white, or none at all? The great poppy debate". The Independent on Sunday. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  20. ^ a b "White poppy: How is it different from the red remembrance symbol?". BBC News. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  21. ^ Walters, Kendall (9 November 2012). "Legion sees red over white poppy campaign". Cnews.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  22. ^ Breen, Paul (3 November 2016). "Poppies are a political symbol – both on and off the football pitch". Theconversation.com. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Why the Poppy?". Ninety Years of Remembrance. BBC. 2008. Retrieved 9 November 2008.
  24. ^ Wainwright, Martin (7 November 1986). "White poppies reopen old wounds / Disarmament divisions affect preparations for Remembrance Day". The Guardian. p. 6.
  25. ^ a b c d Hetherington, William (2009). Swimming Against the Tide: The Peace Pledge Union Story. London: The Peace Pledge Union. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-0-902680-51-7.
  26. ^ Hetherington, Bill (2006). "Symbols of Peace". Housmans Peace Diary 2007 (54th ed.). London: Housmans Bookshop.
  27. ^ Melville-Smith, Alicia (17 November 2014). "Peace campaigners outraged after white poppy wreaths torn down from Aberystwyth War Memorial". Wales Online. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
  28. ^ "White poppy wreath 'pinched' from Bath War Memorial within a day of Remembrance Sunday celebrations". Somerset live. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  29. ^ a b Bulham, May (9 November 2019). "Military veterans demand Tory minister apologises for calling white poppies 'attention seeking rubbish'". The Independent. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  30. ^ Gordan, Tom (8 November 2022). "SNP MSP Michelle Thomson accused of 'shameless stunt' after wearing Indy poppy at Holyrood". The Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  31. ^ Sanderson, Daniel (8 November 2022). "'Shameless' SNP politician derided for 'tacky and tasteless' white pro-independence poppy". The Telegraph. Retrieved 3 November 2023.

External links edit

  • White Poppies for Peace – official homepage of the PPU's White Poppy project
  • White poppy wreath-laying at Canada's War Memorial, Ottawa, Ontario, on Nov. 11, 2008
  • A motion on White poppies before the Scottish Parliament (S2M-1865 Mark Ballard: White Poppies for Peace, Monday 25 October 2004)
  • White Poppies for Peace – website in New Zealand
  • whitepoppy.ca – a sub-page of "Remembrance Day For All" – Towards discussion that includes everyone in our Remembrance of Canada’s wars.

News articles edit

  • BBC: Red poppy 'less Christian' claim
  • Ekklesia: Father of dead Canadian soldier supports White Poppy
  • Ekklesia: Newspaper and former defence secretary back freedom to choose red or white poppy

January 01, 1970
white, poppy, examples, perspective, this, article, deal, primarily, with, united, kingdom, represent, worldwide, view, subject, improve, this, article, discuss, issue, talk, page, create, article, appropriate, november, 2023, learn, when, remove, this, messag. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United Kingdom and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject You may improve this article discuss the issue on the talk page or create a new article as appropriate November 2023 Learn how and when to remove this message The white poppy is a flower used as a symbol of peace worn either in place of or in addition to the red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day or Anzac Day Artificial poppies placed as Anzac Day tributes on a cenotaph in New Zealand mostly Papaver rhoeas marketed by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services Association with a lone White Poppy White poppy Arctomecon merriamii Contents 1 History 1 1 United Kingdom 1 2 New Zealand 2 Controversies 3 See also 4 References 5 External links 5 1 News articlesHistory editUnited Kingdom edit In 1926 a few years after the introduction of the red poppy in the UK the idea of pacifists making their own poppies was put forward by a member of the No More War Movement as well as the proposal that the black centre of the British Legion s red poppies should be imprinted with No More War 1 2 Their intention was to remember casualties of all wars with the added meaning of a hope for the end of all wars the red poppy signified only the British military dead 3 However they did not pursue the idea 1 The first white poppies were sold by the Co operative Women s Guild in 1933 4 The Peace Pledge Union PPU 5 took part in their distribution from 1936 and white poppy wreaths were laid from 1937 as a pledge to peace that war must not happen again 1 6 Anti war organisations such as the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship now support the White Poppy Movement 2 Those who promote the wearing of white poppies argue that the red poppy also conveys a specific political standpoint and point to the divisive nature of the red poppy in Northern Ireland where it is worn mainly by unionists but boycotted by Irish republicans 7 Sales of white poppies steadily rose throughout the 2010s often causing supporters of the PPU to become targets of abuse On 1 November 2018 sales of white poppies were higher than in any previous year since white poppies were founded in 1933 As of 7 November 2018 119 555 white poppies had been sold The final figure was 122 385 The previous record was 110 000 white poppies in 2015 Until 2014 the record was around 80 000 in 1938 8 9 10 In 2018 St John Ambulance in England allowed its volunteers to wear white poppies for the first time 11 12 Those who endorse the white poppy campaign include actor Mark Rylance 13 poet Benjamin Zephaniah 14 and rapper Lowkey 15 better source needed Children s author Michael Morpurgo described his decision to wear a white poppy alongside his red one in a Radio Times article Wearing the red poppy for me is not simply a ritual not worn as a politically correct nod towards public expectation It is in honour of them in respect and in gratitude for all they did for us But I wear a white poppy alongside my red one because I know they fought and so many died for my peace our peace And I wear both side by side because I believe the nature of remembrance is changing and will change as the decades pass since those two world wars 16 New Zealand edit In New Zealand a White Poppy Annual Appeal has been run since 2009 by Peace Movement Aotearoa in the week preceding Anzac Day with all proceeds going to White Poppy Peace Scholarships 17 The appeal was controversial for some with Veterans Affairs Minister Judith Collins describing the white poppy appeal as incredibly disrespectful to those who served their country 18 White poppies have also been worn in New Zealand to mark Remembrance Day In previous years the annual white poppy appeal was run as a fundraiser for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament around the time of Hiroshima Day in August Responsibility for organising the annual appeal was transferred to Peace Movement Aotearoa as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in New Zealand closed down in 2008 17 Controversies edit nbsp White poppy wreath at The Cenotaph Whitehall in 2018 the centenary of the end of the First World War The Royal British Legion has no official opinion on the wearing of white poppies stating that it is a matter of choice the Legion doesn t have a problem whether you wear a red one or a white one both or none at all 19 and that it defends the right to wear different poppies 20 Opponents 21 of the white poppy argue that the traditional red poppy already encompasses the sentiments claimed for the white poppy such as remembering all victims of war and consider that it undermines the message of remembrance Some Irish nationalists see the poppy as representing the army that denied them independence in the 1920s and that returned in the late 1960s bringing with it such events as Bloody Sunday 22 In the 1930s when the white poppy was first established some women lost their jobs for wearing them 23 Others are concerned that the money raised by the white poppy appeal may affect the funds raised for the Royal British Legion by the red poppy appeal 24 In 1986 John Baker Bishop of Salisbury stated in his diocesan newsletter that he had been asked about the appropriateness of the white poppy Baker responded let s not be hurt if we see a white poppy there is plenty of space for red and white to bloom side by side 25 Salisbury MP Robert Key disagreed and later that year asked British prime minister Margaret Thatcher her opinion on the issue Thatcher expressed her deep distaste for the symbol during prime minister s questions 26 In response the White Poppy campaign received much media coverage in Britain 25 The Daily Star ran several articles criticising the White Poppy campaign 25 In The Guardian artist Steve Bell published a cartoon satirising Thatcher s opposition to white poppies which he allowed the Peace Pledge Union to republish 25 In November 2014 white poppy wreaths on the Aberystwyth War Memorial had to be replaced after they were removed from the Memorial and thrown in a bin 27 There were similar reports of a white poppy wreath being removed from war memorials in Bath in 2018 28 In 2018 UK Conservative MP Johnny Mercer tweeted that he thought white poppies were attention seeking rubbish 20 Mercer s comments led to widespread media debate around the appropriateness of white poppies with the Peace Pledge Union later crediting Mercer s comments as being responsible for the record level of sales that year 10 Mercer repeated these views in 2019 after being appointed as Minister for Defence People and Veterans in Boris Johnson s government accusing white poppy wearers of hijacking symbolism for their own ends 29 His comments led to an open letter from multiple military veterans and the organisations that support calling on Mercer to apologise for his comments and instead spend energy on addressing homelessness and mental health among ex servicemen and women 29 In 2022 Scottish National Party politician Michelle Thomson MSP sparked controversy over wearing a homemade white poppy with a Yes logo in the centre Critics accused Thomson of being tacky and tasteless by using a commemorative poppy to campaign for Scottish independence Thomson claimed that she had used the Yes pin to secure the poppy to her lapel after her poppy fell apart over the weekend and that she had not intended to cause any offence 30 31 See also editPurple poppyReferences edit a b c Usborne Simon 4 November 2016 The great poppy war how did we get here The Guardian Retrieved 19 July 2018 a b Basu Srabosti 10 November 2017 The Argument for the White Poppy Affinity Magazine Retrieved 14 December 2020 White Poppies for Peace Ppu org uk Retrieved 19 July 2018 Iggulden Amy British Legion reaches a truce with the white poppy movement The Daily Telegraph Retrieved 19 July 2018 Remembrance Sunday Services for Peace a resource from Fellowship of Reconciliation and Peace Pledge Union PDF Ppu org uk Retrieved 29 March 2022 The Big Question Why are we asked to wear a poppy and is its The Independent Retrieved 19 July 2018 John Montgomery quoted in the Irish News 10 November 1986 p 1 White poppy sales hit new record ahead of Armistice centenary Co operative News Thenews coop 9 November 2018 White poppy sales break all records Peace Pledge Union Ppu org uk 8 November 2018 a b O Leary Miles 8 November 2018 White Poppy sales hit record high following Plymouth MP s comments PlymouthLive Retrieved 4 November 2023 White pacifist poppies allowed by St John Ambulance for first time in its history The Independent 15 October 2018 Retrieved 14 December 2018 Robert Booth 15 October 2018 St John Ambulance to let volunteers wear white remembrance poppy The Guardian Ross Tim 31 December 2012 Remembrance Day poppies should be white Archived from the original on 1 January 2013 Zephaniah Professor Benjamin 30 October 2012 a poem with white poppy Ppu org uk Rise above the wars The folly of endless fight Let s try making love Let s make our poppies white The White Poppy for Peace Campaign Facebook com 10 November 2018 Archived from the original on 26 February 2022 Hip Hop artist Lowkey is wearing a white poppy Michael Morpurgo Why I ll be wearing two poppies this Remembrance Day Radio Times a b 2009 White Poppy Annual Appeal on Scoop co nz Retrieved 25 April 2009 Hank Schouten and Paul Easton 21 April 2010 Rival poppy campaign angers veterans The Dominion Post Retrieved 3 December 2011 Brown Jonathan 11 November 2006 Red white or none at all The great poppy debate The Independent on Sunday Retrieved 9 November 2008 a b White poppy How is it different from the red remembrance symbol BBC News 25 October 2018 Retrieved 14 December 2018 Walters Kendall 9 November 2012 Legion sees red over white poppy campaign Cnews canoe ca Archived from the original on 15 January 2013 Retrieved 9 November 2012 a href Template Cite news html title Template Cite news cite news a CS1 maint unfit URL link Breen Paul 3 November 2016 Poppies are a political symbol both on and off the football pitch Theconversation com Retrieved 29 March 2022 Why the Poppy Ninety Years of Remembrance BBC 2008 Retrieved 9 November 2008 Wainwright Martin 7 November 1986 White poppies reopen old wounds Disarmament divisions affect preparations for Remembrance Day The Guardian p 6 a b c d Hetherington William 2009 Swimming Against the Tide The Peace Pledge Union Story London The Peace Pledge Union pp 48 49 ISBN 978 0 902680 51 7 Hetherington Bill 2006 Symbols of Peace Housmans Peace Diary 2007 54th ed London Housmans Bookshop Melville Smith Alicia 17 November 2014 Peace campaigners outraged after white poppy wreaths torn down from Aberystwyth War Memorial Wales Online Retrieved 17 January 2015 White poppy wreath pinched from Bath War Memorial within a day of Remembrance Sunday celebrations Somerset live 14 November 2018 Retrieved 14 December 2018 a b Bulham May 9 November 2019 Military veterans demand Tory minister apologises for calling white poppies attention seeking rubbish The Independent Retrieved 3 November 2023 Gordan Tom 8 November 2022 SNP MSP Michelle Thomson accused of shameless stunt after wearing Indy poppy at Holyrood The Herald Retrieved 3 November 2023 Sanderson Daniel 8 November 2022 Shameless SNP politician derided for tacky and tasteless white pro independence poppy The Telegraph Retrieved 3 November 2023 External links editWhite Poppies for Peace official homepage of the PPU s White Poppy project White poppy wreath laying at Canada s War Memorial Ottawa Ontario on Nov 11 2008 A motion on White poppies before the Scottish Parliament S2M 1865 Mark Ballard White Poppies for Peace Monday 25 October 2004 White Poppies for Peace website in New Zealand whitepoppy ca a sub page of Remembrance Day For All Towards discussion that includes everyone in our Remembrance of Canada s wars News articles edit BBC Red poppy less Christian claim Ekklesia Father of dead Canadian soldier supports White Poppy Ekklesia Newspaper and former defence secretary back freedom to choose red or white poppy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title White poppy amp oldid 1213552975, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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