Every year, Remembrance Day offers an opportunity to commemorate the lives lost in military conflict. Individuals participate by wearing a red poppy, the symbol of remembrance, or by attending a parade or service, to show their respects. Widely observed across the UK, Remembrance Day contributes to a national identity, and forms a part of British culture.
November 11th came and went this year, with all the usual commemorations taking place in Edinburgh, but student engagement with it seemed limited. The vast majority of students did not wear a poppy, and the university’s own remembrance service, held at Old College, did not receive large numbers of student attendees.
These observations, while limited in how accurately they can describe the panorama of student opinions, urge us to question why many students did not visibly get involved. Is it simply a matter of being too busy, or not having sufficient reminders? Or are there larger forces at play?
A lack of willingness to go to the streets to express belief can be ruled out. Student activism is a powerful force in enacting change and sees high levels of involvement in Edinburgh, particularly in recent protests for Palestine. This, in fact, may hint at why engagement with the act of remembrance seems diminished.
Anti-war sentiment, particularly prominent among young people today, dissuades many from memorialising those who fought in history’s gravest conflicts, in an act of protest against war altogether. The debate about whether commemorative events glorify war and make heroes of those involved is a delicate one, but with the continuation of conflict and military brutality in real time, it is hardly surprising that many choose not to honour past conflict, even through events that commemorate the victims rather than the perpetrators.
It is not just our perceptions of historical war that come into this debate, however. Today, the British Government continues to involve itself with conflicts worldwide, as does the University of Edinburgh. The supply of arms to Israel both through the university’s own financial investments and sale from the British Government is a key factor as to why student activists are disillusioned by the whole endeavour. Why partake in a ceremony to commemorate those lost in conflict when our institutions continue to perpetuate conflict today? Even if students agree with the commemoration of those killed in conflict on principle, to many, its ceremonialisation and institutionalisation may seem hypocritical.
That said, is Remembrance Day the time to be opting-out in protest? It is an opportunity to honour those killed in war, and remember the atrocities of the past so as not to repeat them. The time-honoured proverb “Lest We Forget” directs us to the prevention of future conflict by remembering past suffering, so choosing not to partake risks ignorance of the lessons offered to us by history.
Increasingly, people are choosing to wear a white poppy as a symbol of the commitment to peace, of the challenging of war and its normalisation, and as an act of remembrance for all victims of war, rather than solely British military personnel.
According to the Peace Pledge Union (PPU) which distributes white poppies, the demand has dramatically increased over the past several years, seeing a 27% spike with the start of the conflict in the Middle East in 2023. Students and young people contribute to this trend, citing solidarity with Gaza and a questioning of traditional narratives of British history in the public sphere. 2020 saw another surge for white poppy wearing, in tandem with the Black Lives Matter movement and re-evaluations of how to commemorate the darker parts of the past.
Notably, The National chose to display a white poppy on the newspaper’s front page on Remembrance Sunday, calling attention to the incongruence between the government’s commemorative efforts, and their sale of arms abroad. The PPU also reports on the growing number of cities staging alternative commemorations, separately from official remembrance events, that feature white poppies and emphasise peacebuilding. Edinburgh was one such example.
At the same time, as a key example of national memory, remembrance events cater to those honouring British and Commonwealth military personnel, and rely on an appreciation for those who have served this country specifically. The university’s many international students, who now number greater than domestic students, are less likely to partake in events with such narrow confines, when war has affected and continues to affect countries in every corner of the globe.
Annual remembrance events are among the clearest and most popular expressions of British national memory in public, but like many such expressions, such as statues and plaques, they are being increasingly called into question. With changing beliefs come changing priorities for what should be commemorated, and if not implemented by the organisations involved, it will be demonstrated by shifts in behaviour, including wearing a poppy, not wearing a poppy or choosing a white one. The evidence from the University of Edinburgh’s own student population attests to these changing priorities, and urges us to reconsider how best to reflect on conflict, both modern and historical, and honour its victims.
Illustration by Katya Roberts