Remembrance Day 2021

2021
100 Year Anniversary
of the
Poppy
Remembrance Day 2021
At
MOLOGA

Because of the covid-19 virus we cannot
celebrate in the usual way at the World War I
Memorial at Mologa, but that does not mean to
forget about the soldiers, who have given their
life and their health so that we can live in peace.
We have to remember the sacrifice these young
people have given, to be taken out of their
familiar surroundings, their parents, their
brothers and sisters, their wives and children,
not knowing if they see everyone again.
But they went with high spirit to defeat evil and
make a better world for their loved ones.
It is up to all generations, now and in the future,
to make sure, that these men are not forgotten.
We owe them the life we live now.
Lest we forget

Order of Service
Welcome by the
President of
The
Mologa and District
Landcare Group

Would you sing with me
Abide with me
Hymn
Abide with me
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless. oh, abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim, its glory pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see –
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the Skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain Shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Prayer of Remembrance
Father of all, remember your holy promise, and
look with love on all your people, living and
departed. On this day we especially ask that you
would hold forever all who had suffered during
war, those who returned scarred by warfare,
those who waited anxious at home, and those
who mourned, and those communities that
were diminished and suffered loss. Remember
too those who acted with kindly compassion,
those who bravely risked their own lives for
their comrades, and those who in the aftermath
of war, worked tirelessly for a more peaceful
world. And as you remember them, remember
us, O Lord; grant us peace in our time and a
longing for the day when people of every
language, race, and nation will be brought into
the unity of Christ’s kingdom.
This we ask in the name of the same Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Amen

Let’s all join together in saying
The Lord’s Prayer
Our father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed by thy name;
Thy Kingdome come;
Thy will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom,
And the power and the glory,
Forever and ever.
Amen

In Flanders Fields by Lieutenant – Colonel
John McCrea – 1872-1918
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We re the Dead. Short days go
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The distribution of the Poppies
Wreath laying
The Ode from the poem “For the Fallen,”
By Laurence Binyon
They shall grow not old, as we are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
The Last Post
We pause in silence, to remember
The rouse

National Anthem
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are one and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth to toil;
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
Advance Australia fair!
Prayer
God bless Australia
Guard our people
Guide our people
And give us peace
And peace who laid down their lives
To defend our nation
We remember their courage and sacrifice
With thanks for freedom we enjoy
In the name of Jesus we pray.
Amen

Blessing
And may the peace of God which passes all
understanding, keep our hearts in love and joy of
the Lord. Amen
We Shall Keep the Faith
By Moina Michael, November 1918
Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With all who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flowers that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
Moina Michael decides to sell silk poppies
9 November 1918
Moina Michael read “In Flanders Fields” and
wrote her own poem in response “We Shall Keep
The Faith”. Michael was an American professor
who taught a class of injured veterans. She saw
the need for ex-Service men to have financial and
occupational support and was the first to have the
idea of selling silk poppies to raise funds. This was
later adopted by Earl Haig’s Appeal Fund (which
became the Poppy Appeal).
Anna Guérin sells silk poppies
15 May 1921
Moina Michaels silk poppies inspired Anna Guérin,
a French woman, involved in the French artificial
flower trade. She went on to sell poppies in
Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Britain. The

first ‘Haig Fund’ launched in 1921 using artificial
poppies made by women and children in
devastated areas of France. It raised £106,000.
The British Legion adopts the poppy
1 September 1921
Anna Guérin persuaded Earl Haig, the UK’s
Commander-in-Chief and President of The British
Legion, to adopt the poppy as The British Legion’s
fundraising symbol. The first ‘Poppy Day’ was such
a success that demand far outstripped the supply
of poppies made in France, so Haig needed to look
for a British supplier.
The Disabled Society make poppies
1 April 1922
Georg Hawson pledged The Disabled Society could
supply The British Legion with silk poppies for the
Haig Fund, and in doing so, gave paid work to
British veterans wounded in the First World War.

The Prince of Wales’ Royal Wreath
1 November 1924
The Prince of Wales (Edward VIII) visited the
factory in November 1924 and ordered a large
royal wreath for the Cenotaph. This started the
factory’s longstanding connection with the Royal
Family. At the time, the factory made 27 million
poppies and there was a long waiting list for
prospective injured ex-Servicemen wanting
employment.
First Field of Remembrance
1 January 1928
George Howson founded the first Field of
Remembrance in the grounds of Westminster
Abbey in 1928 with a small band of factory
workers. They grouped around two battle field
crosses, similar to the ones used in Flanders and
on the Western Front, with trays of poppies. They
invited people to plant a poppy with the crosses.
In the first year, there were only two memorials –
one dedicated to “Tommy Atkins” – a nickname
for a British soldier – and one to Earl Haig, who
had died in January that year. The field is an

annual event and 2018 marked the 90th
anniversary of the first ceremony.
Centre of the poppy button changes
1 January 1994
The centre of the Remembrance poppy had
always read ‘Haig Fund’, the name for the early
Poppy Appeal. In 1994 the button was changed to
the ‘Poppy Appeal’.
There are interpretations of why the Poppy is so
significant
It is thought that the red of the petals represents
the blood of those who gave their lives, the black
button in the middle is for the mourning of those
who never welcomed their loved ones home and
the green leaf shows the hope that the grass and
the crops growing after the war brings.
(The British Legion)

Mologa and District
Landcare Group 2021
memories@mologalandcare.com
http://www.mologalandcare.com
November 2021