11 Days of Remembrance: A Plethora of Poppies

By no means would I call myself a collector. I've just managed to obtain various versions of the same thing. In this case, over the years, I've obtained multiple poppies, cap brasses, and military buttons. Besides that feeling I get come this time of year that I just don't have enough, the variations of each of these items always interest me. I suppose I ought to start by showing you what my total collection, with oddities not mentioned, looks like.

You can see my poppies scattered throughout, along with my cap brasses, and buttons. First for you, I'll show my poppies.

Believe it or not, I can give you a story for all of these, except for two. Those would be the ones with the original green centres. I'd just always had them stashed away. As you might have noticed, I have issues with getting rid of them, except for when I attend November 11 services, then I do place one with the abundance of poppies on the styrofoam crosses.

I firmly believe that we need to remember our fallen for more than one day out of the year. This little cluster has been on the visor of my car for about as long as I've owned it. Yes, they really are that red due to lack of filth, yes, I've taken one down when the one on my coat or bag disappears, and I have given them away before to friends who are lacking one. But they always get replaced.

I realize that these here likely don't fit your definition of a poppy, but work with me. The coins have always been very cool to me. If you can't see them too well, the one at the bottom has the silhouettes of two veterans. The other coin has two painted poppies on either side of a soldier. As for that pin, it is of particular importance for me. You might not be aware of this, but 2005 was designated the Year of the Veteran. As a cadet, we were all issued veteran pins to wear on our uniforms for the entire year. The poppy, as you can see, is front and centre, with a maple leaf in the background. The inscription around the opposite edge reads, "2005 Year of the Veteran."

As you might expect, I have a story to accompany each of these pins. I'll start with the two matching pins. The one on the upper right hand side was compliments of my grandparents last year. They attended a service, I believe the one that my former squadron participates in, and the MP for my riding, from what I understand, had a few of those pinned-poppies. Apparently, only certain people were supposed to receive those, but that didn't stop my mama and papa wandering over to whomever was responsible for them, telling said person that I was a former cadet who used to sell poppies with veterans, and as such, I ought to have one. The bearer of the poppies caved, and now I have a beautiful piece in my cabinet.

I also obtained the twin to that pin last year as well, only it was compliments of one of my (former) co-workers. He was out and about, and I think it was a veterans table that he stumbled across. Knowing just what kind of person I am, and how much admiration and respect I have for the members of our military, past, present, and to come, he picked up one of the pins for me. I really did, and still do, appreciate the gesture.

There was one more poppy pin that I somehow got my hands on last year as well. It's the one with the Support Our Troops ribbon. I was quite shocked when I was given that one. I was working a day shift on November 11. Come the afternoon, we had a meeting of some description. I can't remember what for, but that doesn't matter. One of the Day Leaders was wearing that pin on his poppy. All I asked was were he got it (I believe it was the Legion). Instead, he gave it to me, poppy and all.

As for the last pin, I just got that last week. My mother and I were out at Limeridge, and just like every year, the veterans had a table set up. They were selling pins along with their poppies, so mum bought one for she and I. $6 total well spent. Before you ask, yes, we did shake his hand and thank him afterward, and the phrase along the bottom reads, "we remember."

There is one more pin, not shown with all the others, that I've had for a very long time. No, it wasn't given to me, nor did I go to a veteran table to receive it. It's the small Canadian flag, which you can see in the initial poppy picture. That pin, but not necessarily that particular poppy, was the one I used every November to keep my poppy on my tunic as a cadet. Though it is the most subtle of the bunch, it is of equal importance, and did the job that needed to be done, since poppies are famous for falling off.

As for the poppy on the cross, that was given to me by one of my friends last year for my birthday. Also, what you don't see because I didn't photograph it, is my remembrance bracelet. It's one of the red rubber ones that says, "We Remember." I purchased it last year, and I wear it fairly often, November or not. 

If you're not one for using a pin like what I have for holding your poppy in place, may I recommend using an old earring back. The butterfly style works the best. Or, you could also bend the pin itself. Yes, you could use tape, but contrary to popular belief, it really doesn't hold that well, and though it'll take a while longer, your tape will fall off, and eventually, your poppy.

I don't remember when I started collecting cap brasses, if you could even call it that. All but one were given to me, and I honestly couldn't tell you when I obtained my first one, let alone who from. But, it's still my little handful of history and awesome.

As you likely figured out, the only brass that was mine from the get-go is the one on my old cadet wedge. As for the old-school ones, the only things I can guarantee is that one was once for an air cadet wedge, and that another was for army cadets. Beyond that, I'd have to do some research.

The old and the new really are quite fascinating, especially side-by-side.

Finally, there are all those buttons, from all three branches of the military.

Believe it or not, I do have a personal favourite out of all of these. It's my last Royal Canadian Air Force button.

Though nothing in our lives will ever be as terrifying as what our veterans endured, sometimes, we're faced with challenges that leave us nervous, or maybe even afraid. For me, that's where this button comes in. It's my metaphorical suit of armour. I slip it in my pocket, and it calms me down. I realize that you may find this odd, but my reasoning makes perfect sense, or at least in my mind. Many decades ago, an ordinary man showed extraordinary bravery, and this button was on the tunic we wore. I like to believe that with this suit of armour in my pocket, some of that fearlessness can be passed on to me. See? Not so strange after all.

Extraordinary people are behind these little gems that I've shared with you today. I know I have more poppies than I know what to do with, as you were lucky enough to see for yourself, but I always feel like I don't have enough. I know, I know, I said that at the very beginning, but it's the truth. Those pins truly are special. The cap brasses and buttons have seen histories all of their own, experiences that we could never dream of, and that we likely never would desire. But all of these keep me that much closer to our past, and make me appreciate our present this much more.


For more, refer to the other posts in my 11 Days of Remembrance series.