In keeping with time-honoured tradition, the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, as Head of State, receives the first Poppy from the Trinidad and Tobago Legion of the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League before its national distribution.
Today, October 31, 2025, His Excellency Wade Mark, Acting President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, received the first Poppy from Colonel (Ret’d) Lyle Alexander, President of the Trinidad and Tobago Legion, Mr. Lennon Surzano, Treasurer, and Mr. Hilton Clarke, Trustee.
The Poppy is the enduring symbol of remembrance of both World Wars, and while it is linked with Armistice Day (11 November), its origin as a popular emblem of remembrance lies in the landscapes of the First World War. Shortly after losing a friend in the Second Battle of Ypres in 1915, a Canadian doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, was inspired by the sight of poppies growing in the battle-scarred fields of fallen soldiers to write his poem “In Flanders Fields.”
Since the end of the First World War, Remembrance Day has been observed in Commonwealth member states as a memorial day to honour members of the armed forces who have died in the line of duty. The Armistice — an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations — began at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month (11 a.m. on November 11, 1918). The first Remembrance Day was observed in 1919 throughout the Commonwealth and Britain. Originally called Armistice Day, it commemorated the end of hostilities of the Great War in 1918 and came to symbolise the end of the war while providing an opportunity to remember those who had died.
Trinidad and Tobago will observe Memorial Day on Sunday, November 9, 2025.
