Beautiful New British Stamp

Great Britain is releasing a mini-sheet titled "Lest We Forget" commerating the 90th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918 which ended WWI. Look closely at the poppy. You will see faces representing the fallen soldiers of the war.

BTW, they are also going to reissue the poppy stamps from 2006 and 2007 along with the 2008 version in a se-tenant sheet.



I think this is a beautiful series and a must addition to any military related collection.

For those that don't remember.....The original Armistice Day was November 11, 1918, the day WW1 ended..........Now called Veterans Day.

Thanks Tom - I should have made that connection.

Of course the poppy is symbolic of WWI - which is why you'll get a paper one when you donate to the VFW or American Legion guys outside Walmart next month. Here is a short history and the famous poem by John McRae:

Long before the Great War, the red poppy had become a symbol of death, renewal and life. The seeds of the flower can remain dormant in the earth for years, but will blossom spectacularly when the soil is churned. Beginning in late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders became the scene of stupendous disturbances. Red Poppys soon appeared.

In 1915, at a Canadian dressing station north of Ypres on the Essex Farm, an exhausted physician named Lt. Col. John McCrae would take in the view of the poppy strewn Salient and experience a moment of artistic inspiration. The veteran of the South African War was able to distill in a single vision the vitality of the red poppy symbol, his respect for the sacrifice made by his patients and dead comrades, and his intense feeling of obligation to them. McCrae would capture all of this in the most famous single poem of the First World War, In Flanders Fields.


John McCrae
The doctor's work achieved immediate universal popularity which was subsequently reinforced by his own death in 1918 from pneumonia and meningitis. He was buried in a military cemetery near Calais on the English Channel, thus becoming one with those of whom he wrote in his famous poem. Probably by the time of his internment, John McCrae's verse had forever bound the image of the Red Poppy to the memory of the Great War. The poppy was eventually adopted by the British and Canadian Legions as the symbol of remembrance of World War One and a means of raising funds for disabled veterans. An American war volunteer, Moina Michael, helped establish the symbol in the US where the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion also embraced the Red Poppy tradition.


In Flanders Fields
By John McCrae


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row by row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard among the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
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 yea break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

I remember going to the gigantic military graveyards in the Flanders area when I was 10 or 11. I will never forget what seemed like thousands and thousands of markers and flowers, or the large crypt of bones from unknown soldiers from both sides of the conflict. I'd imagine they aren't on display any longer. I was impressed and saddened by the vast number of "Unknown" markers.

OK, I'm on a rant today. As an education state employee in Louisiana, I don't get Veteran's Day off, and as a 20+ year veteran it REALLY irks me!

I just love those poppy stamps.

Thanks for the history lesson LaSwabbie.....I found it to be a very interesting read.

Don't you miss the old days? Just a name, city and state and the mail got there.

How would one go about getting some of those British Poppy stamps. I would love to find some and make a nice framed memorial to put up in my local Library.

Cimarron - I passed through a site when I was researching the poppy stamps this morning. I don't remember exactly who they were, but there was a group taking orders.

Wait, Mr. Google to the rescue! Check here: http://www.norvic-philatelics.co.uk...e_forget.htm

Swabbie tell them you are taking off...i remember seeing the military cemataries around Arnhem and Nijmegen in Holland...mostly British paratroopers ..something about the beauty and the quiet of the place..also saw the Dutch military cemetary all died in one week in May 1940 19 and 20 years old....odd feeling when you see it !!

Thanks for the link LS, they even look better over there. I just might have to consider these stamps.

You're right, MK. They do look better set against the darker background. It looks like they will cost a pretty penny for everything from the three years and in all the forms.

... and in the British Commonwealth we call it Remembrance Day. The day we honour our Glourious Dead.

We also wear the poppy. I'll have mine in my headress (per standing orders) when I march in the parade on November 11th.

Every Canadian schoolboy and schoolgirl has "In Flanders Fields" memorised. The first stanza is on the back of the $10 note.

The ACT OF REMEMBRANCE is repeated at ALL Canadian Remembrance Day services. It is the fourth stanza of the poem "For The Fallen", by Laurence Binyon. It is:

They shall grow not old, as we whom 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.

David

I have memories of being Senataff guard almost every November 11'th when I was in the forces. It Was usually a cold windy day. There I stood for about an hour not moving a muscle. Some years they had to pry the riffle out of my hands. It was soon a forgotten memory after a few warm one at the Legion later.

Dianne

The stamp firm, Arthur Ryan & Co. sells current British stamps for face value, plus shipping of course. They are located in a London suburb and accept credit cards from the US. (No checks on US banks though)

I have ordered twice from them. The last time it was 9 days from placing the order on line till the stamps appeared at my local post office! You can email them with queries and they will answer.