Why do we wear a poppy?

They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted; They fell with their faces to the foe.

The Somme 1916

WWII 1939 - 1945

THE BLITZ

VJ Day

The Korean War 1950

Suez Crisis 1956

British Operations  1945-2005 1945-48India Decolonisation and Partition1945-48Greece Supporting Gov. forces during Civil War1945-48Palestine (223/478)1945-46Dutch East Indies Restoring Dutch Colonial rule1946-48Southern Indo-China1946H.M.S. Volage hit by mines off  Albania1947Aden Riots1948Gold Coast Riots, British Honduras1948-49Somalia1948-60Malaya Emergency (509/921 including 159/308 Gurkhas) 1948-1951Eritrea (Operations against Shifta Terrorists)1949Akaba Threat of Israeli Invasion1950Singapore (Hartog riots)1950-53Korean War1951Akaba (Moussadeq Oil Nationalization)1951-54Suez Canal Zone1952Monte Bello Island Oct. First British A Bomb test1952-56Kenya  Operations against the Mau Mau (12/69)1953British Guiana1954-83Cyprus (99/414)1955Singapore Riots, Buraimi Oasis operations1956Bahrain riots, Hong Kong riots, Singapore riots 

Suez operations  Clash on Yemenis Border1957British Honduras, Yemeni border clash1957Christmas Island May First British H Bomb test1957-59Muscat and Oman (6/6)1958Nassau strike, Jordan/Lebanon intervention  

State of emergency declared in Aden. Nyasaland (Malawi) Riots

1959Gan riots1960Jamaica1960-1Cameroons Peace Keeping operations1961Kuwait, Zanzibar1962British Honduras, British Guiana,  Aden riots Brunei 1963Swaziland,  Zanzibar Aden1963-66Borneo *1963-64Cyprus Peace Keeping Operations1964Zanzibar revolution, Tuanganyika Army mutiny 

Uganda Army mutiny, Kenya Army mutiny British Guiana, civil unrest

1964-67Aden and Radfan (90/510)1965Mauritius, Bechuanaland1966Hong Kong riots, Das Island, Seychelles1967Hong Kong riots1968Bermuda &  Mauritius State of Emergency1968-69AntiguaCivil unrest1969Anguilla March to September. So called Upraising1969-84Northern Ireland (To 27/1/84, not including UDR. 371/?)1970Cayman Islands April Demonstrations against Colonial administration. 1971Pakistan - Refugee evacuation1970-76Dhofar (24/55)1972Bomb Scare on Queen Elizabeth II in mid atlantic and consequent SAS drop1973Egypt - UN Peacekeeping support1973Bermuda  1974-Cyprus Peace Keeping Operations1978Lebanon - UN Operation (supporting Fijian troops)1979 Iran - Evacuation of civilians1979-84Operation Agila Rhodesia/Zimbabwe 1980 SAS assault on Iranian Embassy, 1980 New Hebrides - Civil unrest1982 Falklands War1982 Sinai Peace Keeping operations1983Beirut1983 Aden - Evacuation of British Nationals (civil war)1987-88Gulf - Mine sweeping / clearance1991Persian Gulf War 1991Kurdistan Humanitarian Relief1991-2003N Iraq - Northern "No fly" Zone1991-2003S Iraq Southern "No fly" Zone1992 onwardsBosnia1992-?Operation Hanwood 1, 2 and 31994 Yemen - Operation Bottleneck. Evacuation of various embassy staffs1994Operation Gabriel(?) 9 Para Squadron RE and elms 23 Parachute Field Ambulance to Rwanda1994Kuwait - Deployment of Spearhead Battalion (45 Cdo RM) to Kuwait in response to another Iraqi threat of invasion.1995Angola - Peacekeeping (post civil war)1997Congo - Evacuation British nationals (civil unrest)1998Congo - Evacuation British nationals (civil war)1999-?Kosovo- NATO peacekeeping2000East Timor - UN peacekeeping2000Sierra Leone2001Macedonia - Disarming fighting factions2001-?Afghanistan2003-9Iraq - Operation Iraqi Freedom2003Congo2003Solomon Islands2004Ivory Coast - Operation Phillis*

Northern Ireland 1969 – 2007

Falklands War 1982

Afghanistan

For the men and women who served and returned…

…we salute you.

And for those who paid the ultimate

sacrifice …

They shall not grow old, as we that 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.

… to the end, they remain.

For the fallen, we wear our poppy with

pride.