Today, 11 November, is Remembrance Day or Poppy Day. It is observed by most Commonwealth countries since World War 1 (1918) to remember the members of armed forces who died in the line of duty. Hostilities ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.
Hundreds of red poppies were in full bloom at this time on the battlefields and war cemeteries in Flanders, Belgium inspiring Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae to write the poem “In Flanders Fields” after he witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer. To this day the red poppy is still the symbol of Remembrance Day
