A close-up of white poppies, with 'Peace' written in the middle. Photo: Courtesy of PPU.
Surge in demand for white poppies
Orders of white poppies and education packs have increased, the Peace Pledge Union reports
Friends marked Remembrance Day this week, as the number of people buying white poppies increased for a consecutive year.
According to the Peace Pledge Union (PPU), orders of its white poppy education packs doubled compared to 2021. The PPU, which distributes the poppies, reported a nearly thirty per cent increase compared to the same time last year, with teachers citing student concern about the war in Gaza as one of the reasons. This followed a spike in demand for white poppies since the war in Israel and Gaza began last October, particularly from Muslim school pupils, said PPU. A number of student unions in universities have also chosen to offer white poppies for the first time.
Geoff Tibbs, remembrance project manager from the PPU, said: ‘It is heartening that a growing number of young people are turning to the white poppy, for the light it sheds on today’s conflicts. Many are alienated by the mainstream tradition of Remembrance Day, as it fails to acknowledge civilians and people of other nationalities affected by wars today.’
Quakers marked Remembrance Day with some attending the National Alternative Remembrance Ceremony in London’s Tavistock Square. This year’s ceremony focused on remembering all victims of war, including those being killed in wars in Gaza, Lebanon, Ukraine, Sudan and elsewhere. It also featured a speech by a nonviolent Palestinian peace activist.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Britain Yearly Meeting, also wrote a letter in The Guardian citing the new Quaker database, mapping the more than 65,000 British conscientious objectors (COs) in the second world war. There were 16,000 COs in the first.
The PPU marked its ninetieth anniversary with a fresh pledge last month to strive for a world without war. The organisation arose in 1934 out of a campaign initiated by pacifist Dick Sheppard. White poppies have been worn since 1933.
