LONDON WALK NO 48 – GROUP 3 – ROYAL BRITISH LEGION POPPY FACTORY ORGANISED BY BETTY SIMMONS & MARGARET LEE – 22nd November 2012

Sixteen of us met up at Tonbridge Station for the 9.32am train to Waterloo East, on a

damp and drizzly morning. Too much chatting, and not enough listening, meant I bought a group ticket

to London, and had to go back and change it for Richmond – even though Barbara had walked

down the queue reminding us! Problems with a broken-down train at Sevenoaks had caused rail disruption, and we were lucky to

catch a train without too much delay, and to get a seat inspite of the crowds. Reaching Waterloo East, we crossed over into Waterloo main station. We had planned to stop for a coffee, but the train delays meant we were tight for time, so some bought takeaway coffees for consumption on the journey to Richmond. The general public were less than impressed with our group hogging the queue, with one person heard to complain “I have to get to work!”

The Richmond train left without problem, and with only two stops, we were soon there. Arrangements had been made to meet up with Jennifer who had been visiting locally, and we were pleased to see her come round the corner just after we arrived. The day had dried out somewhat, so instead of walking the high street route, our leaders took us down the side

roads, around the green to the river – a route we had taken on an earlier trip to Richmond. Passing one of the offices, we were amused by the design of the flower arch in the front garden – guess the business!

(Optometrist). A sharp wind hit us as soon as we

reached the river, and we were glad of only a short walk up to the Museum of Richmond. Created by local residents, and situated in Richmond’s old town hall, the museum is independent, a registered charity, and supported by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. This great, free ‘mini museum’ celebrates the heritage of Richmond, Ham, Petersham and Kew, with colourful displays spanning medieval times to the present day. A couple of school groups sat on the floor examing Tudor

bricks, restricted our viewing a little, but we all managed to review the items and wonderful model buildings.

Jeremy said that he used to use one of the items on display – surely making him a museum-piece too ! Wandering back downstairs, we found a small art gallery full of amusing pictures, taking off the classic pictures in children’s books format – a series of “Katie & the Artists” by James Mayhew. Meeting outside the Museum, most of us made our way to the White Cross pub, right on the river bank. Their website tells of high tides and stranded customers, so they now

provide wellies. Customers can ring them if there are no wellies left at the edge of the water, and they will bring some more round! These were waiting at the pub door.

We had great meals, in a relaxed atmosphere on the first floor, where we virtually took over the restaurant.

Jan had ribs – and could have fed us all!

Lunch over, we met up with Jeremy and Ros by the river, and made our way up to the Poppy Factory where we had a tour booked for 1.30pm. I was surprised at how ordinary the factory was, something at the back of my mind thinking we were going to the Royal Star & Garter Home for disabled veterans, which is nearby. We took the opportunity of our usual group photo outside, before going in to the warm. (Ros seems to have grown somewhat!)

Making ourselves comfortable in the lecture area, we were joined by a few other members of the general public, and greeted by Brian, a volunteer lecturer. He was amazing, recounting how the Poppy Factory was now a separate company from the Royal British Legion, although the workers were paid by the RBL. A wonderful wreath faced us on the wall, celebrating 90 years of the Poppy Factory. Brian had offered us tea/coffee, and welcomed a member of our group helping out, handing round the biscuits.

A slideshow and old movies enhanced the information Brian passed on to us about the

history of the poppy, the work of the Poppy Factory, and the different Royal wreaths also on display in the hall. The significance of the poem “In Flanders Fields” was very moving.

The origins of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance can be famously traced to the poppy fields of WW1, where the corn poppy flourished in the disturbed soil. It was a short poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae which was very popular at the time which first mentioned the poppy, but not as a symbol of remembrance. Poppies were first suggested as a symbol of remembrance in the USA by Miss Moina Michael in November 1918 and were adopted by the American Legion in 1920. In August 1921, Madame Guerin introduced her poppies, made by a French-American charity's widows, to the British Legion. The next suitable occasion for a poppy-linked appeal was Armistice Day and so the first Poppy Appeal was born. They didn't know if it would work but ordered nine million poppies ! Artificial poppies for the first poppy appeal in 1921 had been imported from France by Madame Anna Guérin, but in 1922 the Disabled Society, a charity established in 1920 by Major George Howson MC and Major Jack Cohen, received a grant of £2,000 from the British Legion to employ disabled ex-service personnel to make remembrance poppies in England. They set up in a former collar factory on the Old Kent Road. Soon the factory was employing 50 disabled veterans. The factory made a million poppies within two months. In November 1924, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) visited the Poppy Factory, which made 27 million poppies that year. Most of the employees were disabled, and by then there was a long waiting list for prospective employees. The old collar factory eventually proved too small as demand increased, and in 1925 the factory moved to the disused brewery site in Richmond that is still its home, together with social housing for the workers. In 1933 the factory was rebuilt on the same site.

As of 2011, the Richmond factory is operated by Royal British Legion through a separate company, The Royal British Legion Poppy Factory Ltd, and employs approximately 40 full-time workers, most of whom are disabled, who make the poppies throughout the year in preparation for the period around Remembrance Sunday. In addition, the charity employs approximately 90 home workers who live within 10 miles of the factory. Total production is approximately 36 million poppies each year, although it has been as high as 45 million and there

were once 365 workers. They are hoping to hit the 50 million for 2012/13. The Richmond factory also makes approximately 80,000 poppy wreaths each year, including the wreaths laid by Queen Elizabeth, other members of the British Royal Family, and British politicians at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. It also makes wooden tokens of remembrance (originally remembrance crosses, now a variety of shapes for different religions, including for 'no faith') and organises the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey.

Brian recounted the stories behind the royal wreaths, how the design is chosen and then permanently reproduced for individual members of royalty, and how long each takes to produce, generally about 2 ½ weeks. The factory is not allowed to stockpile these wreaths, so Prince Charles’ demand for 4 additional wreaths to be produced in a short period proved problematic, as each takes 5 weeks to make due to its complexity. He also said that the most popular

wreath to view by visitors was that of the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William. Two identical wreaths are now always delivered, so that if one is damaged (as was once the case with a motorcycle accident), there is still one to use. The one wreath not made at Richmond is assembled just down the road – in

Kew Gardens. That is the very ornate Commonwealth Wreath laid by the Foreign Secretary. Each year, Kew grows a number of plants representative of each of the Commonwealth Countries, and a few days before the service they are assembled, refrigerated to preserve the delicate flowers and sent to Whitehall. As usual, they make two wreaths, and the best one is used on the Sunday morning. The other is sent back to Kew, and they hang it at Victoria Gate to the Gardens on the following day. If you go past on the Tuesday and there isn’t a wreath there, then you will know that something went wrong and they needed the back-up for the Cenotaph!

Moving through into the factory, we saw the boxes of poppies ready to be delivered, each with the name of the maker on the box, the individual pieces required to make a poppy, and the large machines which cut out the poppy petals.

Large reels of red paper stood on the floor, and huge reels of used fabric from the larger poppies. We were offered these for school fetes etc. and one of the children visiting gathered one up for her school – and then promptly passed it to her mother to carry! Passing some wonderful poppy wreaths, and a huge floor-standing wreath made of paper poppies, each bearing the name, picture and/or story of a dead serviceman, we moved into the factory assembly room. Here the workers continued to put poppies together, and were willing to talk to us at the same time. One blind worker, Sheila, had her guide dog, Kerrie, laying on a blanket beside her, holding her soft toy in her mouth. Sadly we were not allowed to touch her, as she was working! The royal wreath-maker, Brian Edwards, was much in demand, showing us the various items he produced. On a visit by Her Majesty the Queen this year, he had asked her why her wreath always contained 93 poppies. She didn’t know, but said she would find out – possibly from the birth year of her father, 1893. The Prince of Wales wreath has 156 poppies. There is no significance to the number of

poppies the Queen chooses to wear – depending on which brooch she uses. Hilary’s aunt Sally (yes, really Aunt Sally!) used to work for Johnson Matthey and has cleaned her wonderful bow brooch.

“I do not think it can be a great success, but it is worth trying.”

Quote of the century! from Major George Howson MC

We all had a go at making our own poppies – both styles – known as Poppy One and Poppy Two. In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, Poppy One has two red petals, a green paper leaf and is mounted on a green plastic stem. You just pop the stem into the wooden block; on goes a leaf (at the 11 am angle), then the petal, then the black plastic button to hold it together. Typically, someone should be able to assemble 1,200 to 1,500 poppies per day. Poppy Two is identical in concept except it is much larger, the paper petal is artificial silk and

the plastic stem is wire. These are assembled in the palm of the hand without a wooden block. We had also been allowed to collect a sample of the petals dropped in the Royal Albert Hall Festival of Remembrance. This is my personal collection. There are other things they make here, such as the huge rectangular wreath that is laid around the

Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. I could never get rid of my poppies, but the wooden crosses, each usually with a personal message, are collected afterwards and burnt in order to preserve the privacy of the messages. The ashes used to be taken to France and scattered on Commonwealth Graves, but today there is too much ash, so it is taken to suitable religious sites in the UK, each location strictly secret. The burning of the wooden crosses includes the royal and government wreaths laid at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. There is a curious secret in these posh poppies. The fluffy stamens inside the poppy are made from the brushes found on the end of a domestic broom – dipped in glue and then coloured sawdust. The main supplier of brushes won’t sell them a small quantity at a sensible price, so the Factory just buys some brushes from a local hardware store and cuts the ends off. Also, in recent years, the factory has received funding grants to devote more effort to helping newly disabled soldiers back into civilian life, and has secured work for 180 ex-service people in the past year and a half. Some of their stories were told by Brian and shown in his presentation.

In Scotland, the poppies are different - curled and have four petals with no leaf and are made and sold by Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory in Scotland. Finishing our tour, we had a brief opportunity to buy from the Factory Shop (sadly no enamel pin badges!) and then make our journey back along the High Street to Richmond station, train to Waterloo, and then home to Tonbridge. Our thanks as usual to Betty and Margaret for a truly wonderful experience – emotional and fun.