Let's avoid making the humble poppy a far-right symbol

Let's Avoid Making the Humble Poppy a Far-Right Symbol

Perhaps I have been living under a stone, but neither I nor my friends knew that the symbolic poppy had been taken over by the far right (Neil Mackay, “The poppy has been hijacked by the far right – this is why I won’t wear it”, November 6).

Family Legacy and Sacrifice

My recently deceased father survived the Normandy landings. His father was injured at Passchendaele by a shell and was evacuated to the Netley receiving hospital on Southampton Water. There, he refused to let surgeons amputate his legs. After treatment in 12 other hospitals, he returned to Passchendaele to fight in all weather, wearing his kilt. When he passed away, he still carried a piece of shrapnel dangerously close to his spine and a hole in his buttock large enough for a fist.

Personal Impact of War

My mother’s boyfriend was lost with all hands when HMS Kite was torpedoed in 1944, a fact my father had only recently shared with me. This loss affected her deeply throughout her life.

Such is the dedication and fortitude of those who went to war to defend our democracy and country.

The Meaning of the Poppy

My father shaped our commitment to the Earl Haig Fund and emphasized the importance of wearing the poppy, reminding us “Lest we forget.” I recall him standing to attention with tears in his eyes during the minute’s silence every year on the eleventh day of the eleventh hour of the eleventh month.

Neil Mackay: Why I can't risk wearing a poppy this year

Author's summary: The poppy, symbolizing sacrifice and remembrance, should remain a unifying emblem of honor, not be co-opted by divisive politics.

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The Herald — 2025-11-07