"In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."
This poem, written by John McCrae, recalls how poppies bloomed on the battlefields of Europe; seeds disturbed by the shelling germinated and bloomed. The poppy is now used as a remembrance symbol for those who gave their life in battle.
During 2014 ceramic poppies have been planted at the Tower of London, one poppy for each soldier who fell.
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The soldiers from Westhead who fell during WW1 are remembered by the poppies at the Tower of London - the Alty brothers and James Bradshaw as examples.