The Red Poppy Project
A red poppy proudly displayed on a grave at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery
Crafters hard at work making the poppies
Clermont, in the middle of coal and cattle country in Central Queensland, is a small town (population about 3,000). But what it lacks in size it makes up in heart.
Early in 2022, a local group of crafters, came up with the idea of making red poppies from recycled material, to place on the graves of local people who had served in Australia’s armed forces. It was estimated that about 500 poppies would be required.
Made from old tin cans and wire, and with the assistance of the local high school, this project became a little more than our crafters were expecting. Being ready for Anzac Day 2022, was becoming a deadline that was becoming difficult to meet. But, in typical fashion, this little town pitched together to help its own and the Red Poppy Project soon became a community project. Local businesses joined in to help and before long, the 500 red poppies were ready for Anzac Day and cemeteries around the area were dotted with this unmistakable symbol of remembrance. A magnificent outcome!!
Poppies on display
But where does the significance of the red poppy come from?
The reference to the red poppy is thought to go back as far as the Napoleonic Wars when it was noted that the poppies grew over the burial sites of fallen soldiers. Thereby providing a marker amongst the otherwise baron and bombed landscape.
However, it was during the early stages of the First World War that Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian doctor serving on the Western Front, penned the poem “In Flanders Field”, after a good friend was killed. The poem’s reference to the poppies that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers resulted in the poppy becoming one of the most recognised symbols of remembrance of those who have died in conflict and those who have served their country.
So it is congratulations to the Clermont crafters and the Clermont community for extending this symbol of remembrance to those who served and now rest in peace.
Footnote: On Anzac Day 2023, some of these poppies made their way to the far away Hellfire Pass and the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery, on the Burma-Thailand Railway thanks to two passionate members of the Clermont community.
In Flanders Fields
By Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae
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.
Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_Flanders_Fields, accessed 02/08/2023
Catherine Wilkes, 2022, ‘The Poppy Project’, Clermont Telegraph, 01/04/2022