Rob Jones

What We Found Behind Those Black Poppy Wreaths By Stan Robinson Voice of Wales Voice of Wales Uncovers the Politics — What we found behind those black poppy wreaths Thank you to everyone for the overwhelming response — 72,000+ views and counting. Many have asked: who are these groups? Where did the money come from? Here are the facts we've uncovered: THREE WREATHS — TWO CONNECTED • Black History Wales 365 — a programme run by Race Council Cymru (RCC) • Ethnic Minority Veterans Support Network — NOT an independent group; it is another RCC initiative. • Muslim Council of Wales — separate independent body; self-declares as community-funded PUBLIC FUNDING & PARTNERSHIPS Race Council Cymru receives £170,127.70 in Welsh Government core funding (2023–2026). Additional supporters & Fundees include: Arts Council of Wales Cardiff Council South Wales Police Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament Two separate identity tributes from the same publicly funded parent organisation — placed side-by-side on Remembrance Sunday. WHERE THE MONEY GOES — THE CRITICAL DIFFERENCE 🔴 Red RBL wreaths → every penny goes directly to veteran welfare: mental health support, care, housing, hardship grants, and families in need ⚫ Black wreaths → made and sold independently by BlackPoppyRose (CIC). Proceeds support historical education and heritage work — NOT the Royal British Legion's frontline veteran services COORDINATED PLACEMENT Three different groups, three different cards — yet placed together, on the same day, at the same memorial. Deliberate visibility. But Remembrance Weekend is the one sacred day in the veteran's calendar — it is not a platform for separate identity statements. All veterans deserve equal honour — regardless of background. But the red poppy was always meant to be the one symbol that unites us all. When blood ran on Flanders, the Somme, the Falklands, Northern Ireland, Korea or Helmand — it was one colour only. Let's keep it that way. #LestWeForget #RemembranceSunday #Wales Accounts referenced: 𝕏 @muslimwales | @RaceCouncilCymru | @Arts_Wales_ | @CardiffCouncil | @SWPCommander | @SeneddWales

🖤 A Black Day For Remembrance Weekend This weekend, something has shifted — and not for the better. For over a century, the red poppy has stood alone. It is the universal, unchanging symbol of Remembrance. When blood ran on Flanders Fields, on the Somme, on the beaches of Normandy, in the mud of Korea, the dust of Helmand — it was one colour only: red. It represents the sacrifice of every man and woman who served, regardless of background, creed, or cause. It binds us together in grief and gratitude, above all division. Yet now we see black poppies laid alongside them — presented not as a personal tribute, but as a public statement, each bearing labels: "Ethnic Minority Veterans Support Network", "Black History Wales 365", "Muslim Council of Wales". Let me be clear: the service and sacrifice of all veterans, from every community, deserves equal honour. No one disputes that. Those who wore the Monarch’s uniform did so side by side, under one flag, answering one call. Their service is indivisible. Their memory should be too. But Remembrance Sunday is not a platform for identity politics. It is the one sacred day in the veteran’s calendar when we do not ask who they were — only that they were there, and many did not come home. To fragment our act of Remembrance along cultural or community lines is not inclusion — it is division. It politicises silence. It breaks the single thread that should bind all our tributes into one. If we truly value the contribution of minority veterans, we should recognise them within our shared act of Remembrance — not carve them out into separate wreaths, separate symbols, separate narratives. The red poppy already belongs to them. It always has. It was there for them on the battlefield; it should be there for them at the memorial. When we lay different colours at the Cenotaph, we do not celebrate difference — we dilute the meaning of the one symbol that transcends it. The blood that was shed was not black or white or brown. It was red. And that red should be enough for all of us. Lest we forget — lest we become the generation that remembers everything except unity.