The red poppy forgets the majority of those who died; students should look elsewhere

By Edward Etheridge, Third Year Aerospace Engineering

The white poppy is a sign of respect for all who die as a result of war, whether they chose to be involved or not, and is not a political statement.

The red poppy was originally adopted as a symbol for Armistice Day as the dust settled after World War One, a day intended to spread a message wishing for the total end of war after the atrocious loss of life.

The day has now been rebranded as Remembrance Day, with this meaning dropped in favour of “remembering our dead” as we seemingly gave up on the idea of ending war. Since the original foundation of Armistice Day, the tone and message of the event have therefore changed massively.

To claim that the white poppy, or qualms about the wearing of red poppies, is a recent development is untrue.

The Peace Pledge Union has been operating in Britain since 1934 and various groups have been selling white poppies -first by the Co-Operative Women’s Guild- since 1933. That is over 80 years of white poppies being worn in place of, or in addition to, the red poppy. Since day one, the white poppy has been used as a symbol of pacifism and regret about all deaths in war.

To further claim that the red poppy remembers all who died in conflicts is factually inaccurate.

The British Legion have repeatedly stated that the red poppy is for remembering the British armed forces dead - not civilians and not those who died fighting as our allies either. This is despite most casualties in war being civilian, with figures of up to 90% non-combatants being quoted.

The white poppy is explicitly in remembrance of everyone who has died in every war.

'despicable, narrow-minded and nationalistic'

In contrast to the British Legion, it includes those who did not want any part of it: the millions of children, those killed for refusing to fight, innumerable innocent dead. After the end of war, people continue to die due to displacement, famine, disease and economic turmoil. To dedicate the entirety of remembrance not only exclusively to the troops, but exclusively to our own troops is despicable, narrow-minded and nationalistic.

War is evil and destructive. The vast majority of people who choose to wear a poppy of any kind recognise this on some level. Let us work for a future with less of it, for the benefit of all people, everywhere.