Why are poppies significant to Remembrance Day observed in London?

It's the 12th of November and I've just landed in London. Everyone is talking about Remembrance Day and the poppies at the Tower of London, while news channels show the crowd gathered at the Tower for a glimpse of them. "If you want to see the poppies, you'll have to go early in the morning or you won't be able to move even an inch, later on in the day," advised a friend. The 888,246 ceramic poppies in the moat at the Tower of London served as a remembrance for the British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the war. Why the poppy? According to the Royal British Legion website, during the First World War, much of the fighting took place in western Europe. Once a beautiful countryside, it was blasted and bombed changing the landscape swiftly to fields of mud and barren scenes where little or nothing could grow, except the scarlet Flanders poppies, which flourished even in the middle of destruction. In the spring of 1915, after losing a friend in Ypres, a Canadian doctor, Lt Col John McCrae was inspired by the sight of poppies and wrote In Flanders Fields. This poem influenced Moina Michael, an American academic, who handmade red silk poppies, which were then brought to England by a French lady, Anna Guerin. The Royal British Legion, formed in 1921, ordered 9 million poppies, which they sold on 11th November that year. That first ever 'Poppy Appeal' raised over £106,000.

On my first day in London, I am told that I've just missed Armistice Day (by a day), when in 1918, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the first world war ended. Today, known as Remembrance Day, a two minute silence is always held at 11 am to remember the brave, not only those who died in WW I, but to remember the millions, who have died at war. The names of the fallen are also read out.

As we roam around Central London, we walk into the grounds of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster Abbey. The first thing that we see is the Field of Remembrance, held every year since 1928. Organised by The Royal British Legion Poppy Factory Ltd, the Field has 240 plots, where the relatives and comrades of those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces plant a poppy cross in memory of their loved one. Larger black crosses demarcate the different subdivisions of the armed forces–Royal British Legion-Unknown Soldier; the Royal Navy, the Queen's Bays (2nd Dragoon Guards) and more. Within these patches, little wooden Remembrance Tribute Crosses with a red paper poppy in the centre and personal messages to someone, who had lost his or her life during the war are spread all over the grounds. As I bend down to click a few pictures, some of the messages and names stand out prominently, 'To all my brothers of all faiths,' was scrawled across one. My attention is drawn to a picture of a young soldier attached to one of the crosses, 'With grateful thanks and may God Bless you.

Bombardier HH Whittall Royal Garrison Artillery, 14 October 1918 Service No 78268', is scribbled across his cross. I could have spent hours just reading the messages. At first, to me these are just strangers, but as I look harder, words like 'husband' and 'son' become more prominent. I see an 'Om' symbol and an Indian name sprawled on another cross and feel a connection. Poppy wreaths stand out as I continue my walk down the Remembrance Field. I pay a brief visit to the spectacular church of which some of the notable features include stained glass windows commemorating William Caxton, Britain's first printer, who was buried at the church in 1491; Sir Walter Raleigh, executed in Old Palace Yard and then also buried in the church in 1618; the poet John Milton, a parishioner of the church, and Admiral Robert Blake.

We walk on to Trafalgar Square. At the centre is the Every Man sculpture by artist Mark Humphrey. Set behind a glass case, the 7.5metre-tall brass statue commemorates all those who fought and died in the British Armed Forces and represents the unknown soldier.

Traditionally, the Sunday closest to Armistice Day is known as Remembrance Sunday, when services are also held to remember the fallen. This year is special as it marked the centenary year of the beginning of the First World War. Several events commemorate the day including a special wreath laying ceremony led by the Royal Family at the Cenotaph in Whitehall.