Tomorrow, 11 November, marks the honouring of the cease-fire between the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. It ended the Great War that eventually became known as World War I.
The Great War commenced in 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife, the Countess Sophia, by Serbian nationalists in Sarajevo, Austria-Hungary. The conflict evolved into a global one with the entrance into the belligerence by both the United Kingdom and France and their immense colonial empires in defence of the neutrality of the Kingdom of Belgium.
The USA entered the war in 1917 upon discovering a German initiative to encourage the invasion of the US by Mexico.
The armistice (cease-fire) was a prelude to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which recognized the surrender of Germany to the Allied Powers in 1919. At that time, the Great War was the most severe conflagration in human history.
The Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918, following the armistice, added to the number of deaths induced by the conflict.
The Great War reintroduced the red poppy as a symbol of tribute to all of those who sacrificed their lives. The emblem honours both the military and civilian victims of the conflict before progressing the same recognition to those killed during World War II and beyond.
The Armistice applicable to the Great War was effective upon the 11th month (November), the 11th day at the 11th hour (11:00 a.m.).
The international conflict has various determinations referencing it. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth it is observed as Remembrance Day, a lasting tribute for all the fallen. It is a Sunday holiday in many countries. It is known as Armistice Day in the remaining countries who fought in the war. In the US it is called Veterans Day.
The Poppy:
The red poppy flower represents consolation, remembrance and death. The poppy is a common symbol that throughout the centuries has been utilised the reflect everything ranging from peace to death and even including sleep (slumber). In ancient times, poppies were placed on graves in honour of eternal rest (sleep).
During The Great War (1914 – 1918) much of the fighting took place in western Europe, especially in the Flanders region of the Kingdom of Belgium. The countryside was blasted, bombed and fought over repeatedly. The landscape was torn apart by the existence of military trenches.
The previously beautiful scenery was reduced to mud – bleak and barren vistas where little or nothing could grow.
There was a remarkable exception to all the desolation – the bright red poppy. These resilient flowers flourished among the overabundance of nothing except destruction. The availability of the red poppy resulted in them to profusely dominate the graves of those killed during The Great War.
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
the larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
we lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
to you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Author: John McCrae
John McCrae was the son of Scots immigrants and born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada in 1872. In May, 1915, he was serving as a physician in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps in Flanders, Belgium. On May 2, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, a Canadian field artillery officer and close friend of McCrae, was killed in the Second Battle of Ypres. Shortly afterwards, McCrae wrote the above poem in memory of his friend and honouring all the war dead.
The poem was first published on 8 December 1915, in London, UK, in the satirical magazine, Punch. It was immediately popular, widely circulated, and reprinted as a fitting tribute to all the deceased.
Have a safe and meaningful Remembrance Day/Armistice Day/Veterans Day!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, November 14, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Bare Celebrity Role Model #3!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 