My grandparents struggled through the First World War, but I’ll never buy a poppy again

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The Royal British Legion said the change was made after a recent review. (Getty iStock)

I refuse to buy a poppy. While I am prepared to admit this fact in a letter, I would hesitate to state this fact in public – and therein lies the problem.

To present some context: I had grandparents from the First World War generation who were part of my life until they died in my teens. My father fought in the Second World War in various campaigns from Africa to Europe and rarely chose to talk about the things he had witnessed. The prevailing view that I learnt from both generations was that war was tragic, no one wins and everything should be done to avoid another one.

If the poppy symbolised these views and reflected that conclusion, I would be at the front of the queue to buy one, but presently I do not feel that it does.

To my mind, the poppy is used as a symbol of patriotic/nationalistic remembrance and is openly linked with the pomp and pageantry of militarism. People in public life and the media are clearly compelled to wear one – to refuse to do so is practically treasonous.

I do not doubt the motives of the many who choose to wear the poppy, but having been at public events where ignorant young people have chanted “we won the war” and sung songs about shooting down German planes, I feel that we should look at everything in our society that fuels this malignant, ill-informed view of history.

The millions who died in the trenches in the First World War lost. The millions of all nations who died in the Second World War lost. “We will remember them” and should never forget. But we don’t need to do with through the poppy.

John Dillon
Birmingham

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