Movement’s white poppies promote peace

By Kevin McGrother

November 05 2009

As Remembrance Day approaches it is worth noting that there is an alternative to the ‘traditional’ red poppy.

The white poppy, which has been in existence for almost as long as the red, symbolises the belief that there are better ways to resolve conflicts than killing people.

And while most people rightly associate the British Legion with introducing the red poppy to the UK, it is perhaps less well known that it was an initiative of the Co-operative Movement to introduced white poppies a few years later.

Jan Melichar of the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) says the white poppy aims to decouple the idea of remembrance and memorial from military culture.

“When poppies were originally introduced prior to the Second World War, it was a time of increasing anxiety with remembrance being re-militarised. Remembrance had previously been something associated with grieving widows, but was being taken over by men and the military.”

The red poppies first appeared in 1921 after a French woman who was organising the production of artificial poppies in France suggested that the British Legion might like to sell them as a fundraising venture.

The British Legion ordered 1.5 million for November 11, 1921. They sold out and raised more than £100,000. The British Legion then decided to set up its own poppy factory, with disabled ex-servicemen making up the workforce.

The introduction of the white poppies came just over ten years later as part of a series of peace initiatives from the Co-operative Women’s Guild.

Guild Vice-President Pat Stuttard explains that the organisation’s commitment to peace was — and remains — strong: “Initially not all members were convinced, but the majority was in favour of making it Guild policy. A number of campaigns were introduced including, in 1933, a Peace Pledge Card which several thousand Guildswoman signed.

“At the same time, several branches asked the Central Committee for an emblem to show their commitment to Peace. This resulted in the wearing of white poppies at Armistice Day 1933, initially hand made with manufactured ones following afterwards.

“For many years the Guild laid a wreath of white poppies at the Cenotaph and today it remains committed to peace. A Peace Candle stays lighted throughout every annual Congress, we still sell white poppies to our members and a few years ago we introduced a metal badge of a white poppy, which proved very popular with members.”

The year after the introduction of the white poppies, the Peace Pledge Union was formed and it is this organisation which now co-ordinates the campaign.

For many years white poppies largely disappeared from use before being reintroduced in the 1980s. Mr Melichar explains that this reintroduction was not universally popular: “There was a huge kerfuffle when Margaret Thatcher was asked about the white poppies in Parliament. She was highly unenthusiastic — something which the tabloids picked up on with some very vicious and unpleasant coverage.”

And while the poppies still provoke questioning and debate, they are more accepted today. The PPU has made a number of requests for the British Legion to make the white poppies, requests which have been consistently turned down, but Mr Melichar adds that relations between the PPU and British Legion are more relaxed than previously.

In recent years sales of white poppies have been around 30,000-40,000 a year, mainly in the UK but also overseas — an order of 2,000 was recently despatched to Canada and they are also sold in New Zealand to commemorate Anzac Day, with proceeds being used to fund peace education projects. Proceeds from UK sales also fund peace education work.

• Details of how to buy white poppies can be seen online at: www.whitepoppy.org.uk.