As Remembrance Sunday approaches, the Peace Pledge Union is encouraging people to remember all victims of war, civilians and military, by wearing a white poppy at their local ceremony.

Civilians bear the heaviest cost of war. The UN recorded a 40% surge in civilian deaths in conflict in 2024 alone, and since the Second World War, civilians have made up an estimated 85 to 90% of those killed in armed conflicts.

With recent Ipsos polling showing that one in two Britons (48%) say there are no circumstances in which they would be willing to take up arms for Britain, and with conflicts continuing to rage around the world, it's time to look to peaceful alternatives.

This is the message white poppies have carried since 1933, when members of the Co-operative Women's Guild, many of whom had lost loved ones in the First World War, first made them to say "never again."

You can buy your white poppy at shop.ppu.org.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Colin Kerr, Davide Dionisi, Liz Cooke, Rev Matt Harbage, Chris Green

Council Members of the Peace Pledge Union

ENDS

Background
[1] UN Human Rights Office, "UN data shows surge in civilian deaths in conflict globally": https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/06/un-data-shows-surge-civilian-deaths-conflict-globally-highlights-pervasive
[2] civilian deaths since the Second World War - David Swanson, War Is a Lie, 2nd ed. (2015): https://www.ipgbook.com/war-is-a-lie-products-9781682570005.php
[3] Ipsos, "Despite rising support for increasing defence spending, half of Britons say there are no circumstances under which they would take up arms for Britain" (fieldwork 29 September to 1 October 2026): https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/rising-support-increasing-defence-spending