LEST WE FORGET

Lest We Forget - Navy

Today's Flag

is the LEST WE FORGET Poppy Flag (together with the Canadian Flag,) to mark the start of the Royal Canadian Legion's Annual Poppy Campaign. We have selected the Naval version of this flag to honour the memory of a grandmother and grandfather who both served in the Royal Navy during World War Two, and to remember all who served and as well, a sign of respect to those who are now serving. These particular flags are also available at many retail outlets in Army and Air Force versions, while the Royal Canadian Legion offers an all-inclusive Poppy flag. We are also wearing our Poppies, which are properly worn on the left, over the heart. For Poppy broaches and other remembrance items, please visit the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Store. All proceeds go towards supporting veterans.

Remembrance Day

There are many ways to observe Remembrance Day simply or elaborately: you can watch the National Ceremony broadcast live from Ottawa, or you can go to your local Legion. You might visit a cemetery or cenotaph, (click here for a database of Canadian Military Memorials;) pause at 11:00 am for two minutes of silence; or even organize a Remembrance Day Service for your community. Many years ago, the clan attended the National Ceremony in Ottawa, and after the singing of God Save the Queen, and after the soldiers, veterans and RCMP had all marched off and the gun-carriages pulled past, the crowd gathered around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to lay their Poppies on the stone casket. It was a powerful and emotional moment:Ottawa, c2012: Saluting the Unknown Soldier

The Poppy

Inspired by the epic poem of Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, the poppy became a symbol of remembrance on 9 November 1918, when teacher and YMCA Volunteer Moina Michael vows to always wear a red poppy to remember those who served in war. The poppy is also a symbol of the Poppy Campaign since 1921 when Anna Guérin presents the idea of making artificial poppies for fundraising to the Great War Veterans Association of Canada - the predecessor organization of the Royal Canadian Legion. Her Excellency The Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General and Commander-In-Chief of Canada receives the first poppy as Vice-Regal patron of the 101-year-old charitable effort through which thousands of Canadian volunteers and purchasers of Poppies help the Royal Canadian Legion to commemorate and directly support veterans and their families with financial relief, medical equipment and many other services. Her Excellency made the following address at the Presentation of the First Poppy:

Presentation of First Poppy

RIDEAU HALL - 25 October 2022

Hello,

I’d like to welcome all of you to Rideau Hall, which sits on the unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people who have lived on and cared for this land for thousands of years.

As governor general and commander-in-chief, I’m honoured to host the launch of the National Poppy Campaign.

Every year, we use this time to honour those who have served our country in uniform, to recognize our veterans who sacrificed so much for our nation, and to remember the fallen—those who never made it home. This year, we mark the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, during which nearly 1 000 Canadians lost their lives and thousands more were captured and injured.

The price of war is and always has been enormous.

We have learned so much as a nation and as a world since that time. Yet, we still have further to go to live peacefully alongside each other.

Conflicts still rage and the members of the Canadian Armed Forces bravely, courageously, face the very worst so that the rest of us do not. And we must also recognize the role they play in Canada, helping in times of great and urgent need.

We can do no less than support our veterans, with their quality of life and with their physical and mental health. That is what the National Poppy Campaign is all about.

There are so many ways to remember—such as the virtual poppy—and so many ways to give.

I’m honoured to receive the first poppy.

Today and every day, I will continue to remember, honour and support our veterans and I will encourage all Canadians to do the same.

Thank you.

Mary Simon

L: Royal Canadian Legion President Bruce Julian, R: Her Excellency The Right Honourable Mary Simon

In Flanders Fields

by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
May 3, 1915

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.

(As published in Punch Magazine, December 8, 1915)