The first Legion Poppy Day was held in Britain on 11 November 1921 and the following year Major George Howsen, an infantry officer, suggested to the British Legion that members should make artificial poppies to distribute to the public.
Howsen set up a small factory of workers off the Old Kent Road, providing work for veterans-many of them disabled-and their families.
The poppy was specifically designed so that it could be assembled with just one hand.
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