Poppies of Flanders

A one-armed soldier is among those shown diligently manufacturing poppies on the 10th anniversary of Armistice Day at a factory in Richmond.

Poppies were adopted as a symbol of remembrance by Earl’s Haig’s British Legion in 1922, inspired by John McRae’s poem “In Flanders Field”. Millions were manufactured by injured ex-servicemen, first in Bermondsey and then, as here, at a factory in Richmond. Conditions appear far from ideal, but the work was eagerly sought after and hundreds of former soldiers were involved. Poppies are still made in Richmond but this factory was demolished in 1972.