Summary

Artifical poppy badge with card, probably purchased in an appeal conducted in a public street by the Returned and Services League around the 1980s.

The image of the poppy as a symbol of resurrection developed as soldiers noticed that is was the first plant to grow in the churned up mud of the trenches. In 1921 a Frenchwoman, Mme Guerin, travelled the world promoting the poppy as a symbol of remembrance. The Red Poppy Appeal is held each year in Australia in the lead up to Remembrance Day on 11 November.

The phrase 'Lest We Forget' is recorded on the card. The phrase comes from the poem 'Recessional' by Rudyard Kipling in 1897 for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. The poem was later set to music (using the tune 'Melita') and was used to commemorate the dead from the South African wars. Subsequently the phrase became synonymous with Remembrance Day commemorations following World War I and is often recited following the recitation of the 'Ode of Remembrance.' The 'Ode of Remembrance' is the fourth stanza of the poem 'For The Fallen' by Laurence Binyon. In Australia the ode is recited at dawn on Anzac Day.

Physical Description

A rectangular piece of cardboard,with two small,circular holes one being close to the bottom of the card,one closer to the top.Through those two holes,a synthetic red poppy flower with a green wire stem is attached.The card has writing in red ink on it,stating the price of the poppy ,information about tax deductions,the name of the appeal and its purpose and a note of appreciation.

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