From The Times - today's front page:
 

 
Never forget
 
Ashton Sexton-Farquhar, 4, laid a Remembrance
Sunday wreath at Colchester war memorial, Essex.
 
His father, Shaun Sexton, was killed in 2010 in
Afghanistan, days before he was due home to
meet his newborn son.
 

Indeed. :(

 
 
Speaking of the annual Remembrance commemorations, it saddens me to see how few people seem to wear a poppy nowadays. When I was a kid, everyone seemed to be proudly wearing this poignant symbol of those that died in the poppy fields of Flanders, and of those who have fallen in subsequent conflicts around the world.
 
Obviously, the donations we give each year in supporting the Royal British Legion's 'Poppy Appeal' is the most important factor, but to me, displaying the poppy also makes an important statement too.
 
 
 

So THAT'S what all the Premiere League managers are wearing on their suits!  I kept seeing them but didn't know they were poppies.

 

craigb
So THAT'S what all the Premiere League managers are wearing on their suits!  I kept seeing them but didn't know they were poppies.

Yup, that's what they are mate.
 
There are the cynical amongst us who complain that occasionally, a poppy or poppies design seems to be sported as more of a fashion statement, although it must be conceded that this is quite acceptable providing the money raised by selling such items ends up with The Royal British Legion.
 
Run each year by thousands of volunteers, the Poppy Appeal raises money which goes directly to the RBL's welfare work with serving Service personnel, veterans, and their families.
 
Although one can now support the appeal by buying any number of poppy-styled objects, the most popular way of "wearing the poppy with pride" is by getting an 'original' lapel poppy - the design of which has changed very little over the years:
 

 
These poppies have been traditionally made by disabled ex-servicemen and women - in fact, the simple construction of the lapel poppy was originally designed so that the parts could easily be pushed together on a purpose-built jig by a person with only one hand.
 
To commemorate this year's 100th anniversary of the start of World War 1, an incredible installation of ceramic poppies has been organised in the dry moat of The Tower Of London. The idea was to plant 888,246 individual poppies, each one to represent a British and Commonwealth servicemen killed in the conflict.
 

 
 
Wilfred Owen, Dulce Et Decorum Est:
 

Nice!