An early, unique example of a Poppy wreath used by the Kegworth Branch of The Royal British Legion in early Remembrance Day services. The blood red Poppies, an enduring symbol of remembrance - are of fabric, whilst the base is straw (more modern examples have a plastic base).
The Royal British Legion adopted the poppy as its remembrance symbol in 1921 inspired by the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, 1915:
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.
