The poppy became a symbol of remembrance in 1921 when Field Marshal Earl Haig, who commanded British forces during the First World War, was horrified by the lives facing his men after the conflict.
Since then, the poppy has been used by thousands as a way to reflect on the soldiers lost and as a way to appeal for donations to help those still living.
However, poppies are not the same across the UK with those in Scotland being distinct from the ones used in England and Wales.
How and why are Scottish poppies different?
While the UK and Scottish poppy are similarly blood red they have a couple of distinct differences.
The Scottish poppy does not feature a green leaf and has four-lobed petals – England and Wales's poppy features two.
According to PoppyScotland, the inclusion of green leaves and only two lobes would be "botanically incorrect".
It adds that the addition of green leaves would also cost more money which could be better spent on helping veterans.
Why is the Scottish Poppy Appeal different?
The poppy was chosen as a symbol of Remembrance Day as these flowers were the only ones left on the battlefields of Europe after the war ended.
In the Poppy Appeal's early years, demand was so high that few poppies were able to reach Scotland.
In 1926, Lady Haig established a factory in Edinburgh to produce separate poppies exclusively for Scotland. By 1956, the Scottish Appeal was registered as a distinct charity.
Will your choir be holding a Christmas concert this year? While many of us will cherish this festive season with our loved ones, let's remember those for whom the holidays are a time of struggle and isolation. pic.twitter.com/559tJLxUS5
— Poppyscotland (@poppyscotland) November 4, 2024
How much money is raised by the Scottish Poppy Appeal?
Poppy Appeal Scotland is the country's biggest fundraising campaign and raised over £2 million for outreach and welfare work for veterans in 2022.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article