Billy McWatters: Brian McLeod - The Remembrance Poppy

There was a good turnout of members at last week's meeting of the Rotary Club to hear Billy McWatters MBE speaker Brian McLeod give an interesting talk on the Remembrance Poppy.  Brian joined the KOSB at 16 years of age and served 26 years in the Colours reaching the rank of RSM.  He based his talk on the origins and history of the Poppy which now tops 60 million a year and 880.000 of ceramic poppies the proceeds of which goes to help injured soldiers and their families.  The idea came to a Col. McRae, Canadian Rifles, of Scottish parentage in the First World War who saw that a poppy could survive the horrors of war in the fields at Belgium.  He wrote his famous poem "In Flander's Field" and it took off from there to where it is today.  Sadly the author died in 1918 from pneumonia.  Field Marshall Douglas Haig and Lady Haig were instrumental in promoting it and set up the Earl Haig Fund in 1921 with premises in Logie Green Road, Edinburgh to make them, all by soldiers damaged in war right up to present conflicts.  Brian is involved in several national and local committees too numerous to mention and answered several questions which arose after which President Mairhi Trickett gave the vote of thanks.  Last week's coffee morning raised £569.10p for an Overseas Aid Charity and it was also decided to donate £200 to the Men's Shed in Hawick.