03/11/2026
Each year as November approaches, millions of people across the UK and the Commonwealth wear poppies in remembrance of all those who have served and sacrificed in conflict.
The poppy first came to symbolise remembrance on the battlefields of the First World War. As shelling and trench-digging churned the ground in France and Belgium, poppy seeds that had been dormant deep in the soil were brought to the surface, and the land was blanketed with the vivid red flowers. Inspired by this sight, Canadian doctor Lt Col John McCrae wrote ‘In Flanders Fields’ in 1915, and within a few years of the Armistice, the poppy had become an enduring global symbol of remembrance.
Make next year's Armisitice Day especially memorable by joining our Armistice in Flanders Fields tour, featuring a visit to Essex Farm – the site where McRae wrote the poem that solidified the poppy's symbolism: https://ow.ly/OGYR5100qXG