08 November 2010

RCSCC FRASER Participates in Poppy Tagging

Every November, Fraser sets out with poppies in one hand and a donation can in the other.  Stationed around New Westminster and Queensborough to support the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #2 with freshly ironed pants and polished boots, the Cadets of FRASER stand out and politely ask if anyone would like a poppy. 

Tagging is an opportunity for the public to see FRASER cadets in their community and is a part of their citizenship training. 
This is an annual tradition among all Cadets who try diligently to assist in the spread of the poppies far and wide.  Since 1921, the Poppy has stood as a symbol of Remembrance, our visual pledge to never forget all those Canadians who have fallen in war and military operations.  The roughly $16.5 million raised annually by the poppy campaign is a testament to the generosity of Canadians and a widespread respect for our troops.  "We are particularly proud the poppies are made here in Canada." said administrative officer and Remembrance coordinator for the Legion, Steven Clark.  All poppy money collected by a Legion branch stays within that local community and pays for medical equipment, home services, and long-term care facilities for ex-service people in need of financial assistance.


The association of the Poppy to those who had been killed in war has existed since the Napoleonic Wars in the 19th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada.  There exists a record from that time of how thickly Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France.  Just prior to the First World War, few Poppies grew in Flanders. During the tremendous bombardments of that war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing the red poppy (papaver rhoeas) to thrive.  When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again.


Poppy protocol
-The poppy should be worn as close to the heart as possible or on the left lapel of the outermost garment.

-The poppy should only be worn during the Remembrance period, from the last Friday of October, ending at midnight on November 11.


Little known fact
-Until 1996, poppies were handmade by veterans in Toronto and Montreal.



Written (in part) by PO1 A. Gagnon