Last year I wrote a post on my blog Anglophile’s Digest about Poppy Day, I had actually forgotten about what I had written, but when I was going back to check out what I had written about last year I decided to repost it here. As I have mentioned before, my husband is in the Royal Navy so Poppy Day is really important to him and both of our families.
Today is Armistice Day. I didn’t realize until now that this is the one non-religious holiday that America and Britain share. In America, Veteran’s Day is also commemorated on the day of the Armistice. Having experienced both holidays in both countries I am sad to say that America’s observation pales in comparison to the honor which the British bestow upon their veterans on this day. If you asked the average American civilian what date Veteran’s Day is, if they aren’t looking at a November calendar chances are they couldn’t tell you. I am sure this morning when everyone turned the page on their day to day desk calendar, more than one office worker turned to a coworker and commented “Hey, did you know today is Veteran’s Day?” I find it sad that Americans need a small italicized reminder on their calendar or date book to remember such an important day in our history. By contrast, if you asked a British citizen what date Armistice or “Poppy Day” falls on they will quickly answer “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month”.
For about a month leading up to Poppy Day, everyone wears a paper poppy on their lapel. The proceeds go to the British Legion and one of the most amazing things is that every single television personality makes the poppy a permanent part of their wardrobe for the month leading up to Armistice Day. Even the contestants on The X Factor (Britain’s version of American Idol) wear a poppy on their outfits on stage. I guess it could be compared to the American flag lapel pin, no Member of Parliament would be caught dead without one pinned to their suit.
I suppose here both World Wars quite literally hit closer to home. The British isles were heavily bombed by the Germans and there are still reminders everywhere of the death and destruction. Here in the North, one of the biggest reminders is the depressed economy.
Before the World Wars, Hartlepool was a major English port and a hub of industry with several dozen shipping companies calling the port of Hartlepool home, accounting for nearly 250 ships. Hartlepool’s position as a major British port made it a strategic target for the Germans. On the morning of December 16, 1914 Hartlepool became the first town in Britain to be bombed by the Germans. On this day over 1000 shells rained down on Hartlepool from German ships. Guns on the Heugh (pronounced “Yuff”) Gun Battery in Hartlepool fired back around 150 shells with more accuracy than the German ships and initiated the first and only land to sea attack from the British mainland and severely damaged the attacking ships. Despite this contribution, World War I and the following Depression crippled the once robust Hartlepool shipping industry only to be revived again during World War II. Yet again, this prosperity made Hartlepool a prime target for the Nazi forces and Hartlepool was raided from the air 43 times during the course of World War II. This once and for all cut off the Hartlepool shipping industry and it has never recovered since.
Hartlepool’s story is similar to many other British towns, which is maybe the reason that Armistice Day and honoring their veterans is such a hallowed tradition here. Particularly in the working class towns of the North where the economic effects of war are still relevant decades later, these stories still hit close to home and in many cases the people who lived through them are still around to remember.
I am sitting here in my front room, I live in an old Victorian home on the sea front that was converted to flats. I imagine that the residents of this house would have had a front row seat for that first bombing in 1914. As I sit here I can see the peninsula of the Headland much as it would have looked back then. Although it is a misty day I can see a few cargo ships out to sea, but I have seen naval ships out here as well and ships of war look much different from the merchant ships the residents of this house would have been used to seeing from their front windows. I can only imagine what it would have felt like for whoever who sat right here and watched the shells being launched from the German ships onto the Headland from this distance, far enough away that the falling shells probably didn’t make much sound to penetrate the quiet of that early December morning, but close enough to see the flashes and smoke. It must have been horrific to watch.
If you had by chance forgotten that it is Veteran’s Day, please take a moment to reflect and to remember the veterans who fought for their countries and to protect their loved ones and families back home. I will leave you with the poem (written by a Canadian soldier in WWI) that was the inspiration for making the poppy the symbol for remembering those who give their lives for their country.
In Flanders Fields
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.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 – 1918)