The Poppy Factory is a factory in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, where remembrance wreaths are made. It was founded in 1922 to offer employment opportunities to wounded soldiers returning from the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, creating remembrance poppies and wreaths for the

Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...

and the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. Membership Service in th ...

's annual Poppy Appeal. It is operated by a company that is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

which provides employment support to veterans with health conditions across England and Wales. The factory's production team continues to make remembrance wreaths by hand today. The corresponding organisation in Scotland is Lady Haig's Poppy Factory in

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, which was established in 1926 and makes approximately five million remembrance poppies each year.

The Poppy Factory in England

Artificial poppies for the first poppy appeal in 1921 were imported from France by Madame Anna Guérin. 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 The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British Charitable organization, charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants. ...

's Unity Relief Fund to employ

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

ex-service A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in an occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in the armed forces. A topic of interest for resear ...

personnel to make remembrance poppies in England. Later that year, Howson wrote to his parents, "I do not think it can be a great success, but it is worth trying. I consider the attempt ought to be made if only to give the disabled their chance." They set up in a former collar factory on the

Old Kent Road Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæcel ...

in London. Soon the factory was employing 50 disabled veterans. In November 1924, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(later

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

) 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 1926 the factory moved to a disused brewery in Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey. The Poppy Factory organised the first annual Field of Remembrance at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an Anglican church in the City of Westminster, London, England. Since 1066, it has been the location of the coronations of 40 English and British m ...

in 1928. The current Art Deco Poppy Factory building was built on the brewery site and was completed in 1933. In November 2016, former chief executive Melanie Waters became the chief executive of

Help for Heroes Help for Heroes is a British charity which supports members of the British Armed Forces community with their physical and mental health, as well as their financial, social and welfare needs. The charity was founded in 2007 by Bryn and Emma Parry ...

charity. Deirdre Mills was later appointed the new chief executive; she had previously been a Director at the

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

. In July 2017,

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

visited the factory to celebrate the charity’s 90th anniversary. In February 2024,

Queen Camilla Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is List of British royal consorts, Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East ...

held a reception at Clarence House to mark the Poppy Factory’s centenary.

Lady Haig's Poppy Factory in Scotland

Lady Haig's Poppy Factory was founded in

in March 1926, shortly after the Royal British Legion's factory in

, as independent charity to provide employment to disabled veterans. Lady Haig's Poppy Factory became a trading name of Poppyscotland of which it is a subsidiary. The factory was created at the suggestion of and by Dorothy, Countess Haig, wife of Field Marshal

Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front from late 1915 until t ...

, who had created the Haig Fund to assist ex-servicemen and which still raises funds through the UK's annual poppy appeal. It was established in a former wood-chopping factory in the grounds of Whitefoord House. The factory moved to its current premises, a former printing works in Warriston Road, in 1965. In November 2018 the factory was moved for two years into

Redford Barracks Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks is a military installation located on Colinton Road, near the Edinburgh City Bypass, east of the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. The barracks are set to close in 2029. History Redford Barrac ...

while major renovations could be made while also adding a new learning facility. Like the Poppy Factory in

, it employs ex-service personnel, all of them disabled. It makes five million remembrance poppies in Edinburgh each year, to a slightly different design with four-lobed petals rather than two for English poppies, and 12,000 wreaths.

Remembrance poppies

File:Royal British Legion's Paper Poppy - white background.jpg,

pin poppy File:RemembrancePoppies.jpg, Royal British Legion wreath poppies File:Remembrance_of_Grandpa,_Ypres.jpg, Royal British Legion remembrance cross

References

External links

Official website: The Poppy Factory

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

and

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It mostly broadcasts archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes, and is the sister station of Radio 4. It is the pri ...

blog
''The Poppy Factory''
broadcast on BBC Radio 4 at 11am on 9 November 2011
''The Poppy Factory & Transport for London''

Official website: Poppyscotland

Official website: Lady Haig's Poppy Factory
{{LB Richmond 1922 establishments in England Aftermath of World War I in the United Kingdom British veterans' organisations Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Charities based in Edinburgh Charities based in London Organisations based in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Organizations established in 1922 Richmond, London The Royal British Legion Tourist attractions in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

The Poppy Factory in England

Lady Haig's Poppy Factory in Scotland

Remembrance poppies

See also

References

External links