This month’s question is: ‘On the 100th anniversary of the first Poppy Day, what does it mean to you to wear a poppy?’

The Rev Fred Vincent, minister, Glenelg, Kintail and Lochalsh

“The poppy means, for me, a moment to remember.

“Glenelg is one of the most beautiful and secluded villages in Scotland. To get to it, the mighty Mam Ratagan pass has to be crossed; an almost natural cut-off from the rest of the country. Glenelg church graveyard contains the war grave of Private Alistair Chisholm who died on December 7 1918. He was eighteen.

“Glenelg also has an A-listed war memorial. Thoughtful consideration was, and is, given to remembering. Kintail and Lochalsh are the two other congregations in the parish, and each of their areas has a war memorial containing many names as well.

“This year, as well as remembering those from the parish who died, and how I have benefitted from others’ sacrifice, the poppy for me means remembering

• two grandfathers who survived the Second World War, one serving with the army and the other with the navy

• violence around the world today, and its impact on people and communities

• those who have lost loved ones during active service, and those returning home and their families

• diplomatic services and civic society peace initiatives

• the Prince of Peace who gave himself that Life in all its fulness might be known; manifested in love of enemy as well as friend

• the call to peace-making, so that in responding by way of committed service I might be counted among the children of God

“As the poppy invites us to remember, so we pray for peace; and may peace begin with me.”

Dr Murdo Macdonald, Policy Officer, Society, Religion and Technology project

“The use of symbols has a long history. They are sometimes used to indicate pride in belonging to a group (a club badge, a school tie); they can be used to incite division or hatred (such as the yellow badges that Jews throughout Nazi-occupied Europe were forced to wear) or ownership (eg crofters marking their sheep with daubs of paint). In Genesis, the rainbow is given as a symbol of the covenant between God and his creation following the destructive flood, and the fish symbol was used by early Christians, based on a Greek acrostic from the initial letters of ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour’.

“Poppies have long been used as a symbol of sleep, peace, and death. For many today, the poppy commemorates those who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure peace and freedom, linking back to Flanders field in the Great War. This conflict was meant to end all wars – but history sadly has shown this a forlorn hope.

“For Christians, the ultimate symbol of sacrifice is the cross: as Paul reminds us, “[Christ] Himself is our peace, who has …. broken down the middle wall of separation, …thus making peace, … that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross.” (Eph 2: 14- 17)

“Poppies can remind us of the many people who paid the ultimate price in the pursuit of peace. The cross shows us that God paid the ultimate price in order to bring true and lasting peace.”

Pauline Robertson DCS, Sailors’ Society Port Chaplain: Leith and Forth Estuary

“From an early age I was introduced to the remembrance poppy as both my grandads had served in World War II. Sadly one never returned home to his family as his Royal Navy vessel was sunk off Crete in 1942.

“A poppy was something I wanted to wear as a child at Armistice as it was a connection to a grandad I never met but as I grew older I learned the significance of Remembrance, sacrifice, service and hope for peace behind the wearing of one.

“Growing up in a Merchant Navy family, I also knew from an early age that it was not only the Army, Navy and Airforce that served in wartime. The Merchant Navy played a large role keeping Britain supplied with materials, goods and munitions. Indeed the Merchant Navy has played a vital role during all wars and conflicts. This wartime service, however, came at a price as over 30,000 seafarers lost their lives during World War II alone and the first British vessel sunk was the SS Athenia, sunk on September 3 1939. The effects of war go far wider than those serving in the military.

“These days, as I wear my poppy I still recall the stories of the grandad I never knew and that sense of loss.

“I remember the sacrifice and service given by all who served in the military through the years of war and conflict.

“I also remember the sacrifice made and service given by those in the Merchant Navy doing an already dangerous job in wartime conditions.”

Sandy Sneddon, Asia Secretary, Faith Action Programme

“The idea behind wearing a poppy is both noble and simple: to remember those who fought and died in wars over the past hundred years and to raise funds for a worthy charity.

“In recent years wearing a poppy has become politicised and complicated.

Since the invasion and war in Iraq wearing a red poppy has become for some a badge of pride and patriotism.

“Public figures are criticised for not wearing one.

“Those, like me, who protested against the Iraq War and believed it was illegal felt wearing the red poppy had shifted in meaning to being supportive of militarism. “They could not, in good conscience, wear a red Remembrance poppy.

“I buy and wear a white poppy for Remembrance. These have been produced by the Peace Pledge Union for over 80 years and represent three things: remembrance for all victims of war, a commitment to peace and a challenge to attempts to glamorise or celebrate war.

“I am not a pacifist –I understand there are times, sadly, when military action is required. But I dearly want and pray for a world where men, women and children can live in peace and safety, a world of justice, a society like that envisioned in Isaiah 11 and by Jesus in his Nazareth Manifesto.

“So I wear a white poppy to remember all the victims of war and as a sign of my own commitment to working for peace.”

“A poppy is a pretty little red flower in a big green field. However, it represents many things to many people, but to me it’s a symbol of hope.

“Each year as an act of Remembrance, poppies are displayed in a variety of places from Cenotaphs to car bumpers, or on the jacket of elderly pensioners to infant children. No matter how much the world has changed in the last century, the meaning behind this symbol of hope will forever stay with me.

“It represents family members whom I have loved and lost, brave soldiers who continue to fight for our freedom and gives hope to us all that even when we feel at our lowest or when everything seems lost, there are people willing to stand up and fight for what is most important in this life – each other.

“While each individual poppy may pass on in time, the symbol of what every single one represents stays with us. Not just for a cold week or two towards the end of the year, but each and every day we are here together. Hope isn’t something that can be pinned to a jacket or printed on a face covering – it is a blessing within us all which cannot and never will perish. Wearing a poppy to me means pride, means love and means hope.

“I remember. And I always will.”

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Margaret Muir, National Convener, Church of Scotland Guild