Even in discordant times, a poignant national symbol endures in Britain. It's small and red
by Laura King, Los Angeles Times
Nov 07, 2019
4 minutes
LONDON - In Britain, the poppies bloom in November.
Every late autumn, the artificial red blossoms appear without fail, fashioned from fabric or felt, enamel or plastic. They are affixed to the lapels of newscasters, the team uniforms of footballers, the rumpled raincoats of Tube passengers. Even the queen dons a scarlet poppy brooch.
The poppy pins are meant to commemorate military sacrifice in all the country's wars. But they are most closely associated with a conflict whose wounds still linger more than a century after its end - World War I, when modern battlefield weapons met antiquated customs
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