Armistice Day
By Gabriel Goff, Deputy Editor
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
Armistice Day is a call to remembrance. It’s a time to stop and reflect on those who have fallen to the tragedy of war.
On the 11th of November 1918, an Armistice was called to halt the fighting that had started in 1914. The day has since commemorated soldiers who died during the Great War. The war left 9 million soldiers dead, and 21 million wounded.
Since 1919 there has been a memorial held every year, ensuring that those who died would not be forgotten.
Today, Armistice Day symbolises the call to reflect on all wars. It is not a day for any specific nationality, religion, or community. The effects of war are universal, and each family will have their story to tell. It is an invitation for anyone wanting to remember the sacrifices and losses made by so many.
Because of this, the two minutes where millions stop, and pause is collective and yet deeply personal. The poppy goes alongside the day of remembrance, having become the image of Armistice Day. The poppy first gained significance when the flower inspired John McCrae’s poem ‘In Flanders Fields’, written in 1915. The Poem starts,
‘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.’
McCrae’s poem highlights how the poppy can be a light of hope amid the sadness of war. It stresses the need to remember the lives lost, and not simply the battles fought. After reading the poem in 1918, the American humanitarian, Moina Mitchel, pushed for the poppy to symbolise the remembrance of WWI.
The symbol quickly became popular. By 1922, as so many were being sold, the British Legion built a factory, staffed by disabled veterans, for the sole purpose of making poppies. The factory runs today, and every year over 45 million poppies are sold in the UK. Last year, The Poppy Factory celebrated employing their 1000th veteran.
On the 14th of November Remembrance Sunday will be upon us, calling us to the essential practice of remembering the fallen and their sacrifice.
When the clock strikes 11 on Sunday morning, use the moment to think of those who have been devastated by war. Step back from daily goings-on and join millions in the 2 minutes of silence.
