By Douglas Phillips
2026 year commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion
From Flanders Fields to Today, 100 Years of Legion Service
Over the Legion’s one hundred years of service, it has been instrumental in helping Canadian veterans and their families with the support they needed. The poppy stands as a symbol of the ultimate sacrifice made by all the brave men and women, that we now are able to live and worship in freedom.
The Royal Canadian Legion. For 100 years, The Royal Canadian Legion has stood as a champion for Veterans, their families, and the communities they call home. From advocating for care and services for those who served, to honouring the Fallen through Remembrance Day, the Legion has strengthened Canada’s national identity and community spirit.
1914 to 1918: The Beginning of the Royal Canadian Legion
Over 650,000 Canadians and Newfoundlanders served and distinguished themselves in major battles during the First World War, including Ypres, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele. (Newfoundland became part of the Canadian Confederation in 1949).
By the end of 1915, wounded and disabled veterans began returning home. Many had lost limbs or suffered other terrible wounds, and trauma that prevented them from returning to the Front. The Veterans needed care and benefits and various charities formed to help them and their families as Canada did not have a comprehensive plan, help was limited. An estimated 117,000–137,000 men were discharged as medically unfit.
Veterans formed their own associations, often to meet immediate needs. Other organizations were based on regiment or region. The largest of these groups was the Great War Veterans’ Association (GWVA).
Money was desperately needed to help the veterans. A French lady, Madame Anna Guerin was inspired by the poem written in May of 1915 by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae ‘In Flanders Field the poppies grow’. The idea was for hand-made poppies to be made and sold to help raise the necessary funds. On July 6, 1921, the idea was adopted in Canada, marking the first Poppy Campaign. Since then, the poppy has become a symbol representing all those brave men and women who have served and died in so many world conflicts.
The Poppy Campaign is supported by the Legion, and it is an honour to wear a poppy. On Remembrance Day it has become a tradition to place a poppy on local war memorials. In 1948 an Act of Parliament granted The Royal Canadian Legion trademark protection for the Poppy, safeguarding it as a symbol of Remembrance and ensuring its respectful use for generations to come.
In 1925 various veteran groups united, and on July 17, 1926 they were incorporated by an Act of Parliament. This date is now celebrated as the Legion’s official anniversary.
From 1921 to 1930, Remembrance Day was known as Armistice Day. The Legion lobbied for a fixed date and formal recognition of the day. Their efforts succeeded and the first Remembrance Day was commemorated on November 11, 1931, with nationwide ceremonies. In 1970, the Holidays Act formally recognized November 11 as a statutory holiday ensuring Remembrance Day in Canadian law and tradition.
In 1960 Queen Elizabeth II granted consent for the Legion to use the title ‘Royal’ and since then it has been named The Royal Canadian Legion.
In its current role the Legion has become a greater supporter of veterans’ rights of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, education of Remembrance Day, youth, and community programs.
As part of the Canadian Legion’s National Remembrance Day Service, we recite “In Flanders fields” as part of the Remembrance Day Service, as we gather in front of our local war memorials to remember those who gave their lives for our freedom.
Wreaths are laid on the memorials, followed by two minutes of silence and then the words “WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.” The service ends with the Last Post and a new tradition of laying our poppies on the memorial.
Another Remembrance Day Tradition is to open the family photo album and share photos of relatives who served, along with their medals. These are our Portraits of Honour, and many families proudly display them at Remembrance Day Services.
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.
Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (1872-1918)
Footnotes: John McCrae’s immortal poem In Flanders Fields has endured the test of time and gives us a glimpse into those WW1 dark days. The Guelph Museum website carries details on the McCrae’s House, Memorial Garden and Remembrance Day events www.guelph.ca/museum.
References: Wikipedia, Canadian War Museum. Royal Canadian Legion: – legion.ca/our history,