100th Anniversary of Remembrance Day

I think you will be surprised to learn that English ordinary Joe is inclined to blame the education system, rather because modern schoolchildren do not remember the dates of the Second World War (WW2), while the end date of the First World War (WW1) is widely celebrated throughout the country each year.

Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of WW1 to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This year on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month people worldwide will mark the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, pausing to recognize those who sacrificed and those who will sacrifice in the defense of freedom and democracy.

The remembrance poppy is an artificial flower that has been used since 1921 to commemorate military personnel who have died in war, and has been inspired by the WW1 poem "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 sunset 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. The remembrance poppies were first adopted by the American Legion to commemorate American soldiers killed in that war. They were then adopted by military veterans' groups in parts of the British Empire. Today, they are mostly used in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, to commemorate their servicemen and women killed in all conflicts.