Today, the Poppy is worn each year during the Remembrance period to honour Canada's Fallen. The idea was considered at a meeting in Port Arthur, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) and was adopted on July 6, 1921. Later, Anna presented her concept to France’s allies, including the precursor to The Royal Canadian Legion, The Great War Veterans Association. She was inspired by John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders Fields.” Anna had originally founded a charity to help rebuild regions of France torn apart by the First World War, and created poppies made of fabric to raise funds. The idea for the Remembrance Poppy was conceived by Madame Anna Guérin of France. McCrae’s poem was published in Punch Magazine in December of that same year. Little did he know then that those 13 lines would become enshrined in the hearts and minds of all who would wear them. John McCrae penned the Poem “In Flanders Fields” on a scrap of paper in May, 1915 on the day following the death of a fellow soldier. The person who first introduced the Poppy to Canada and the Commonwealth was Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of Guelph, Ontario, a Canadian Medical Officer during the First World War. When the war ended, the lime was quickly absorbed and the Poppy began to disappear again. During the tremendous bombardments of the war, the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing the “ popaver rhoeas” to thrive. Fields that had been barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended. Records from that time indicate how thick Poppies grew over the graves of soldiers in the area of Flanders, France. The significance of the Poppy can be traced back to the Napoleonic Wars in the 19 th century, over 110 years before being adopted in Canada. Each November, Poppies bloom on the lapels and collars of millions of Canadians.
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