The Poppy Factory has helped hundreds of wounded, injured and sick veterans back into civilian work – Rob Edwards met Melanie Waters, the chief executive officer, who explains
This interview first appeared in the Richmond Magazine, October 2011
If you’ve ever taken the No. 65 bus along the Petersham Road in Richmond, you’ll probably have noticed the name “Poppy Factory”, spelled out in distinctive red letters on a white art deco building, high above street level. And it’s not a relic of a war long past. Down on the ground floor, the factory workers are busy making the red buttonhole poppies, wreaths and the crosses displayed all over Britain in Remembrance Week every year.
But the Poppy Factory isn’t just about commemorating the past. It is looking to the future, specifically to the futures of ex-Service people. The Poppy Factory has launched a new initiative, “Getting you back to work”, to help 500 wounded, sick and injured ex-Service men and women people from across the Forces into mainstream employment over the next five years.
“Ex-Service people have a great work ethic,” explains Melanie Waters, chief executive officer of the Poppy Factory. “They’re disciplined, trustworthy and used to working in a team. But if they’ve been wounded, or suffered an illness, they often struggle to find work after leaving the Services.
“There’s not a high ex-service population in the Richmond area, so we’re working with other employers across the UK. And we work with other charities, foundations and trusts. We’ve placed around 40 ex-Service people in jobs within the last year.”
One of whom is 23-year-old Alex Harrison, who joined the Grenadier Guards at 19. While serving in Afghanistan, Alex was shot at close range by the Taliban and lost an eye. He is now a full-time Green Keeper at Gainsborough Golf Club in Lincolnshire, employment part-funded by the Poppy Factory during his first year there.
“We help find people jobs in the area where they want to be,” says Melanie. “Some want to be near family, others can’t drive long distances.
“And we’re helping them through the recruitment process. Some ex-Army people may never have been to a job interview! An Army assessment is very different!”
Finding employment for ex-Service people has always been the Poppy Factory’s charitable purpose. Major George Hewson MC, an infantry officer who had served on the Western Front in World War 1, set up the Poppy Factory (at first called The Disabled Society) in 1922, to provide employment for severely wounded veterans from the Great War. The factory outgrew its Old Kent Road premises and moved to Richmond in 1925. It has been producing Remembrance poppies ever since.
The poppy was first worn as a symbol of remembrance in America, when university teacher Moina Michael read the poem In Flanders Fields, written by Canadian poet and soldier John McCrae in 1915. Flanders, in Belgium, was the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of World War One. Wild red poppies grew in the disturbed earth where casualties had been buried. Inspired by the poem, Moina Michael began making silk poppies to be worn in remembrance and selling them to friends to raise funds to assist wounded veterans. By 1921, the poppy was officially adopted as a symbol of remembrance for war veterans by services organisations.
Today, the Richmond Poppy Factory employs 43 workers on-site. They include ex-service personnel - and dependants of service personnel – many of them disabled.
In addition, a number of “home-workers” assemble the poppies at home.
“Apart from cutting the petals, everything here is done by hand,” notes Melanie. “Some of our workers aren’t as dextrous as they used to be.”
The home-workers don’t need equipment, she points out. “You can make a poppy using one hand! We box up the materials they need and our driver delivers them. We have a commitment to our home workers. It’s not a contract, though – there’s no pressure if they can’t make as many poppies as usual, in a week.”
Melanie takes me around the factory, where we watch the workers putting together wreaths and wooden crosses. The factory also produces wooden emblems representing other faiths – the Star of David, the Islamic crescent and the Sikh emblem, the khanda – all bearing poppies.
“49 million poppies will be made this year,” says Melanie. “But not all of them by us!” The Poppy Factory makes all the poppies for England, Ireland and Wales, but the Lady Haig Poppy Factory in Edinburgh makes all the poppies sold in Scotland, which have a slightly different design.
In addition to the buttonhole poppies, 130,000 wreaths are to be made this year, plus 1.8 million crosses, Stars of David markers and Islamic crescents.
As we walk around, I admire the badged wreaths made for regiments.
“We make them for the Girl Guides, the Rotary, all the regimental associations,” says Melanie.
The Poppy Factory is also responsible for the rectangular wreath of larger poppies that surrounds the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in Westminster Abbey.
“We made a fresh one for the Pope’s visit, earlier this year,” says Melanie. “That way, it still looked fresh for the Royal Wedding!” And framed Kate’s bouquet, placed on the Tomb after the wedding, in keeping with royal tradition.
“We also run and manage the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey,” says Melanie. “Every year, we begin planting crosses there the week before the Remembrance services. Our team planted 90,000 crosses there last year. We had teams of cadets helping us, and youth offenders too. It’s a lovely thing for young people to do.”
The factory also plays a part in the annual Festival of Remembrance. In the traditional two-minute silence, thousands of poppy petals fall from the roof of the Royal Albert Hall, each representing a life lost in war. “We make those petals from crêpe paper,” explains Melanie. “Afterwards, you see people picking them up as souvenirs.”
The Poppy Factory has its own commemorative moment coming up. “Next year will be our 90th anniversary,” says Melanie. “We want to do something special for that.”
For me, the highlight of the visit is when I get to make a poppy myself. As I place the plastic stem on the ‘block’ that keeps it in position, my mind goes back when I was ten years old, with my school friend Denise, carrying the tray of poppies around each classroom to collect for the Poppy Appeal. I’d never have imagined that one day, I would make a genuine Remembrance poppy myself. (And, yes, you can do it with one hand.)
“One of my ladies makes 50,000 poppies every fortnight,” says Dave, the factory’s van driver, referring to his home-worker colleagues. It’ll take a while before I’m up to that standard, but I still feel privileged to have had the opportunity.
A few years ago, Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow sparked controversy by refusing to wear a poppy on air, unlike every other newsreader. When people complained of his perceived lack of respect, he accused his critics of “poppy fascism”.
“It’s not our place to comment on whether people choose to wear a poppy or not,” says Melanie. “We’re just pleased to be able to make them.”
And most people are proud to wear them. The Poppy Appeal’s annual October launch usually makes the front pages. Remember when Dame Vera Lynn teamed up with the Spice Girls, in 1997? And Katherine Jenkins in a dress made of poppies, in 2006.
“We collect donations on behalf of the Poppy Appeal, and pass the money back to them. But the Poppy Appeal is a separate organisation from us,” Melanie points out.
Well, just in case they’re reading, I would like to suggest that next year’s Poppy Appeal should be launched by the cast of Horrible Histories, the popular sketch show which often includes skits on topics from both World Wars. Or if all else fails, they can always ask Jon Snow.
The Poppy Factory welcomes visitors on pre-arranged tours of the Factory.
The Royal British Legion Poppy Factory Ltd., 20 Petersham Road, Richmond, Surrey TW10 6UR.
