The Book of the Poppy

by Chris McNab

  27 May 1916 – ‘We whistled and sang the Marseillaise as we tramped … And my word it was heavy walking! This is marching order.’

  9 July 1916 – ‘Against the front breastwork we have a step, about two feet high, upon which men stand to shoot. When there is a bombardment nearly everyone gets under this step, close in against the side.’

  20 July 1916 – ‘The shells are coming from all directions by the thousand, ours and theirs, but I’m resting in quite a comfy little machine gun emplacement. We hope to be out of it in a few days, thank goodness. Our losses have been heavy.’

  8 August 1916 – ‘I was buried twice and thrown down several times – buried with dead and dying. The ground was covered with bodies in all stages of decay and mutilation …’

  12 August 1916 – ‘I lost, in three days, my brother and my two best friends, and in all six out of seven of all my officer friends (perhaps a score in number) who went into the scrap – all killed.’

  19 August 1916 – ‘Before going in to this next affair, at the same dreadful spot, I want to tell you, so that it may be on record, that I honestly believe Goldy and many other officers were murdered on the night you know of, through the incompetence, callousness, and personal vanity of those high in authority.’

  DEATH TOLLS OF MAJOR NAZI EXTERMINATION/CONCENTRATION CAMPS

  5. A SYMBOL OF HOPE

  ONE OF THE IRONIES of war is that a situation that sees the worst in human behaviour at the same time can bring out the best in people. We witness this with great clarity during the annual Poppy Appeal. Not only does this event represent a national and international act of remembrance, it also demonstrates a very practical desire to help veterans, military families and all those affected by the consequences of war. For example, some 350,000 volunteers and staff of The Royal British Legion work every year to make the Appeal possible, many of them giving up large portions of their spare time. Through their efforts, more than £40 million is raised annually, which then goes to good causes ranging from supporting bereaved families through to rehabilitating injured veterans. Numerous other organisations work throughout the UK to deliver support for soldiers (former and current) and their families, some providing specialist medical care found almost nowhere else. If anything, the presence of these organisations reminds us that the instinct to care is just as strong in humanity as the instinct to fight and destroy.

  LIFE ON THE OUTSIDE

  Military personnel tend to have fairly tough and resourceful personalities. They are used to high-pressure demands of a type rarely faced by those in civilian life. Mistakes in a war zone can literally result in lives lost. Combat troops also have to negotiate the prospect and actuality of killing people, an act that frequently leaves an impression on even the most hardened character.

  Yet for all the mental resilience possessed by military personnel, life for them back in the civilian world can be hard, whether the return is the result of injury, the end of a term of service or being made unemployed. Life inside the forces tends to have a high degree of purpose and team loyalty, whereas in the civilian environment the bonds between people, especially in the workplace, are typically far weaker and more self-interested. A veteran can thus emerge from a world in which he manned a multimillion-pound armoured vehicle, or fought close-quarters actions with insurgent forces, into one that cares little for his past, indeed may even feel somewhat threatened by it. By consequence, the soldier can struggle to fit back into regular life, with potentially severe consequences for the soldier and his or her family.

  In one sense, Britain and many other nations have often struggled to make society welcoming for its veterans. Following the world wars, huge numbers of disbanded troops returned home in a rapid timeframe, resulting in intense competition to find work. In Britain, both of those conflicts also left the UK in economic desperation, making the jobs market even tougher for many of the soldiers. After the First World War in particular, Britain’s citizens were treated to the unedifying spectacle of limbless veterans reduced to begging on the streets, their medals for bravery worn across the front of tattered coats.

  Another adjustment the returning soldiers had to make was social. During their time away, women had stepped up in their millions to work in war industries, finding financial and psychological independence while their husbands and boyfriends were away. Not surprisingly, many women were reluctant to go back to traditional female roles after the war, and were often rather alienated from the men who returned, very different from the men who had left. Thus the UK divorce rate in 1948 was more than double what it had been in 1938. Similarly in the United States, the divorce rate was 20 per cent in 1940, but 43 per cent in 1946.

  Another problem for veterans back in the civilian world was coping with what they had been through. By the end of the First World War, British medical services had treated 80,000 cases of ‘shell shock’, resulting in what we now call combat stress and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These were only the most visible cases – tens of thousands of other cases were likely to have gone undiagnosed and untreated. The symptoms of this condition vary, from periodic nightmares and anxiety through to complete physical breakdown and suicidal and violent acts (such as domestic violence). The triggers are also equally varied. For some soldiers, a single horrifying incident can embed itself in the memory and only emerge, like some forgotten ghost, in later life. For other soldiers, the repeated daily grind of combat and its associated stress produce a complete and prolonged mental burnout. The psychology of PTSD was little understood after both world wars, meaning that millions of men went through the rest of their lives in torment and confusion, little understood by the society into which they were trying to reintegrate. All sides were affected by the phenomenon. Amongst German troops, for example, there were reports of up to 33 per cent of all military hospitalisations being psychological by 1944–45.

  US VETERANS STATISTICS – IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

  Today we have far better understanding of veterans’ needs, experiences and problems, but we must not be complacent. Amongst veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts, rates of suicide and violence remain worryingly high in men plagued by PTSD. For example, in the United States the US Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that PTSD afflicts:

  Almost 31 per cent of Vietnam veterans

  As many as 10 per cent of Gulf War (Desert Storm) veterans

  11 per cent of veterans of the war in Afghanistan

  20 per cent of Iraqi war veterans

  The rates in British veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq do not appear to be quite as high, but there are still issues to be addressed. For example, a Sunday Mirror report in 2013 revealed that an estimated 9,000 military veterans were homeless on Britain’s streets, the ex-soldiers making up 10 per cent of the homeless total. Furthermore, in 2012 forty-four British soldiers were killed in Afghanistan, but fifty serving soldiers or veterans took their own lives in the same year.

  Another challenge of modern war is helping soldiers who have been injured get back into work and family life. Across the coalition forces, thousands of men and women have suffered limb amputations, head trauma or other debilitating injuries. We should never underestimate the challenges facing such people. In many cases, particularly those involving limb amputations, the wounded soldier has to adjust to an entirely new type of existence, in which simple and once-familiar physical tasks become alien and exhausting. Studies in the United States have shown that 25 per cent of combat amputees typically suffer from PTSD, and more than 35 per cent from chronic depression. Thus while mobility can usually be restored by intelligent aftercare and the application of excellent prosthetics, providing the support to get wounded soldiers back into work and society at large is expensive, time-consuming and utterly justified.

  Of course, it is not just military personnel who experience the consequences of war. For every soldier deployed, their families must also adjust to the mental hardships of not seeing a son, daughter, spouse or parent for months on end,
and worrying about their exposure to danger. The families have to cope with the practical demands of separation, frequently involving money worries and the need to take over responsibilities previously performed by their partners. If a soldier returns home injured, then the family must also reconfigure their lives. If a soldier is killed, the family has to cope with both the tremendous and enduring shock of grief, together with their worries for the future.

  RESPONDING TO NEED

  As we have seen, the military community has its vulnerabilities, as well as its multitude of strengths. Yet if we look across Britain, and across history, we find plenty of encouraging examples of men, women and children who devote their time, money and energy to helping this vital sector of society. During and after the First World War, charities for military servicemen proliferated. For example, in 1915 Sir Cyril Arthur Pearson, a newspaper and publishing magnate, established a hostel for blinded soldiers in Bayswater Hill, London. (Pearson had special sympathies with the blind, having lost his sight to glaucoma in the early 1900s.) The hostel focused upon the men’s rehabilitation into the workforce, building up their physical strength and emotional resilience. In 1923 this charity was known as the St Dunstan’s Home, and it survives to this day in the form of Blind Veterans UK.

  The issue of rehabilitating the huge numbers of paraplegics was further embraced by the charitable sector. ‘Curative workshops’ appeared, in which volunteers assisted wounded soldiers in regaining their physical fitness (using specially adapted gym equipment). Other groups took a different approach. The Chailey and Agnes Hunt’s Orthopedic Hospital, for example, specialized in the care of disabled children. During the war, however, it also began to look after crippled soldiers. One interesting element of its work was to pair the wounded soldier with a child, and make the soldier act as an inspiration and help to the young person.

  Also in 1915, the Star & Garter Committee was established under the auspices of the British Red Cross. The focus of the Committee was the support and rehabilitation of severely disabled veterans, and the purchase of the Star & Garter Hotel on Richmond Hill gave the organisation its first premises as well as inspiring its name. Some sixty-five wounded veterans were admitted in 1916 (the average age was 22), and the charity’s volunteers either helped them back into their previous lives or provided a meaningful existence within the home. As with the St Dunstan’s Home, these early efforts were just the start of a long history of support, and today the Royal Star & Garter Homes deliver nursing and medical care to ex-service personnel. Not all work with disabled veterans was performed by the voluntary sector. In 1919 the government put in place the King’s National Roll Scheme (KNRS), a voluntary scheme that encouraged companies with more than ten employees to employ at least 5 per cent of their workforce from disabled servicemen. The scheme was a success, employing 89,000 people in its first year and running until 1944 (when the Disabled Persons’ Employment Act was brought in).

  As we have seen, the motivation to help ex-servicemen and women flowered strongly in the First World War, and has continued to this day. The Royal British Legion is a case in point. The vast fundraising efforts of The Royal British Legion are focused on supporting millions of veterans and serving members of the armed forces, plus their families. The forms that this help can take are as varied as the lives of the military community. For families suffering bereavement, The Royal British Legion provides advice on dealing with the legal complexities of inquiries and inquests, or financial support if required. Its services for veterans include help with setting up a business (through the ‘Be the Boss’ schemes), grants and loans, advice about compensation claims, or assistance with suitable care-home facilities for older veterans.

  Some of the most important support work, however, continues to focus on the treatment and rehabilitation of wounded soldiers. For those soldiers suffering from serious wounds, the road to recovery is a long one, requiring a patient human network to help at every stage of progression. The British Ministry of Defence leads the Defence Recovery Capability, which works in partnership with The Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes and other charities and agencies to help wounded military personnel gain the support they need to regain independence and either return to service life or enter work in the civilian world. Many of the veterans go to one of several Personnel Recovery Centres (PRCs) dotted around the UK, where they acquire first-rate physical, mental and vocational help. On average, a resident of a PRC will stay for four months, but the organisations do not set limits on recovery – they will devote as much time as it takes.

  BRITISH TROOPS ADMITTED TO FIELD HOSPITAL, 2006–2013

  A key to aiding the recovery of a soldier, sailor or airman is often to tap into the qualities that brought them into the military in the first place. Service personnel tend to be highly motivated by physical and mental challenges, especially with a degree of competition involved. To see how this motivation is applied to wounded personnel, we need only look at the Battle Back Centre, based at the National Sports Centre, Lilleshall, West Midlands. This invaluable institution focuses on getting recovering personnel involved in a variety of sports, in the process confronting and often overcoming the feared limitations of their injuries. Sporting activities include climbing, watersports, caving, wheelchair basketball, clay pigeon shooting and archery, and some 600 veterans pass successfully through the centre every year.

  DECLINE IN US SECOND WORLD WAR VETERANS, 2000–16

  Looking across the UK, we find repeated examples of organisations and individuals investing in the support of its current and former military personnel. On 4 June 2010, for example, Prince William of Wales opened the Help for Heroes Rehabilitation Complex at Headley Court, a state-of-the-art facility for aiding the recovery of seriously wounded individuals. Costing £8.5 million to establish, the facility includes a 25-metre swimming pool, a sprung-floor sports hall, a cardiovascular gym with anti-gravity treadmill, numerous treatment rooms and also a gait analysis centre, which helps patients learn to walk with prosthetic limbs. With a different focus is Combat Stress UK, a charity devoted purely to the ‘treatment and support of British Armed Forces Veterans who have mental health problems’. Through providing free treatment to veterans, particularly those suffering from PTSD, the charity helps numerous individuals, old and young, enabling them to cope with their psychological wounds and move forward in life. The Army Widows’ Association, by contrast, focuses its work on providing friendship and support for those who have lost husbands, wives or partners in military service, the assistance ranging from help in finding employment through to one-to-one counselling.

  Encouragingly, the list goes on. Military charities and support organisations include Blind Veterans UK, the Burma Star Association, the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, Veteran’s Aid and the Forces Pension Society. Taken together, such organisations signal that thousands of people care enough to dedicate themselves to the welfare of serving and former military personnel. It is important work, if only for the reason that it sends a message of appreciation to the armed forces.

  AMPUTEES FROM LANDMINES, PER 10,000 INHABITANTS

  This is not a jingoistic statement. It is made with the full awareness that not everyone will agree with the conflicts in which soldiers, sailors and airmen serve. Yet the point remains that on a human level, soldiers are compelled, frequently on our behalf, to go out and face situations that are dangerous in the extreme, and which threaten their very existence. It is on account of their humanity, not necessarily the causes for which they fight, that they deserve our support.

  CONCLUSION

  NOT EVERYONE AGREES with the sentiments behind the poppy. In recent years, several high-profile individuals have levelled various charges against poppy wearing, with the accusations ranging from the glorification or war through to the trivialising of the dead. Some say that the poppy is a blind act of patriotism, a sentimentalising of violence that actually prevents us from seeing the horror, moral complexity and reality
of what actually happens in conflict.

  There is, it has to be admitted, a danger in wearing any symbol linked to war. We can never see the motivations of those who buy and wear the Remembrance Poppy. Many will buy one largely without thinking, dropping the coin into the charity box while rushing on to some other appointment. Others, by contrast, might wear the poppy through nationalistic motivations, seeing it as a distinctly British and oppositional act of patriotism. Some may even wear the poppy simply because everyone else is.

  We can never, nor should we, control the tapestry of reasons for which people buy the poppy. I would argue, however, that the poppy does have an aggregate positive effect on both society and the individual. For a start, the poppy is not an isolated purchase, but is tied to a distinct period in the national calendar, culminating in the profound two-minute silence on Remembrance Day.

  When the nation stops, it is compelled to reflect on war and its consequences, and in that moment the poppy really comes alive in its meaning and power. For the rest of the year, most of our attention is soaked up by the daily realities of work and family. When we buy a poppy, however, we might pause, just for a second, and step out of our own narrative to reflect on the magnitude of war. Once we do that, we raise the chances of being more engaged with the realities of war, not more distant from them.

  The poppy is also about education. The world wars are becoming ever-more distant in time, and for the younger generations these conflicts are starting to subside into the history books. We have to be honest about this and accept that time does change our relationship to events. The Seven Years’ War was doubtless traumatic for millions of people around the world when it occurred, but dozens of generations have been born and died since those days, so the war’s impact is no longer felt on an emotional level. However, the Remembrance Poppy is not just about the First World War, Second World War, the Falklands War, the war in Afghanistan, or indeed any specific conflict. The poppy compels us to address war in general, and ask fundamental questions. Why does it happen? What is it like? Who suffers? Who helps those who suffer? It also directs our attention to the conflicts that are ongoing – even as I write these words, people continue to fight and die, whether on their home soil or in a foreign land.