AWOL 2014 Issue 303 31st October | Page 7

Advertise here from only 40 baht per week Bobby’s British Breakfast Foods UK Sausages, Ham, Bacon, Pies, Teas etc. SERVED UP BY... Call 087 155 7737 or 089 985 7473 A section for all you budding etymologists where each week the origin of a word or phrase is investigated. the burial, John began the draft for his now famous This week it is..... Remembrance Day Poppy This week we bring you something a little different, not poem “In Flanders Fields”. the etymology of a word or phrase but the origins of why poppies are sold and worn as a sign of remembering the In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, May 1915 fallen soldiers in war. (see page 1) Scarlet corn poppies (popaver rhoeas) grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western In Flanders fields the poppies blow Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic Between the crosses, row on row, wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land That mark our place; and in the sky into fields of blood red poppies, growing around the The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. bodies of the fallen soldiers. In late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were once again ripped open as World War One raged We are the Dead. Short days ago through Europe’s heart. Once the conflict was over We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. otherwise barren battlefields. The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was realised by the Canadian Take up our quarrel with the foe: surgeon John McCrae in his poem In Flanders Fields (see To you from failing hands we throw story and poem below). The poppy came to represent The torch; be yours to hold it high. the immeasurable sacrifice made by his comrades and If ye break faith with us who die quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in World War One and later conflicts. It was adopted by In Flanders fields. The Royal British Legion as the symbol for their Poppy Appeal, in aid of those serving in the British Armed This year marks one hundred years since the start of the First World War in which an estimated 15 million soldiers Forces, after its formation in 1921. During the early days of the Second Battle of Ypres were killed from all nations. For anyone who will be a young Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis visiting London before the end of November, there is a Helmer, was killed on 2nd May, 1915 in the gun positions moving tribute at the Tower Of London to the 888,246 near Ypres. An exploding German artillery shell landed British soldiers who died, with a ceramic poppy for each near him. He was serving in the same Canadian artillery of them placed in the dry moat surrounding the Tower. unit as a friend of his, the Canadian military doctor and Whatever the rights and wrongs of that war and all that have followed, these were fathers and sons, and in more artillery commander Major John McCrae. As the brigade doctor, John McCrae was asked to modern times mothers and daughters, who fought and conduct the burial service for Alexis because the died to protect us, and should be remembered. See page chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty 5 to find out where you can buy your poppies this year that evening. It is believed that later that evening, after to do just that. THE AWOL FORUM www.awolonline.net/forum Games, discussions, jokes, videos, information, sports, local and international topics and more Join up, log in and tell us what you think! Register and log in with Facebook and Twitter or create a unique AWOL account free Join the AWOL forum 7