Skip to main contentSkip to footer

Here’s how to say ‘Thank You’ to the women who played a role in the First World War

“The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them.”

royal british legion women first world war thank you brooch
Anna Johnstone
Head of Social
Share this:

This year marks 100 years since the end of the First World War. While we have continued to remember those who lost their lives fighting on the front line, we must also remember the courageous women who also played a huge role, both in the field and at home. As a thank you tribute, the Royal British Legion have created a poppy brooch dedicated just to the women who “served, sacrificed, and changed our world”.

royal british legion women first world war thank you brooch

The stunning brooch is hand finished with crystals

The pretty brooch is made up of a beautiful enamel poppy, plated with gold, and finished with tiny crystals. Each brooch is presented in a special box and comes with a certificate commemorating the life of a woman who lost her life as a direct result of the First World War. It costs £29.99 and all proceeds go towards the Royal British Legion charity, which supports families of the British Armed Forces today.

royal british legion women first world war thank you brooch box

Each brooch comes in special box, dedicated to a woman who lost their life during the First World War

While many men were sent away to fight during the First World War, many women served as nurses in field hospitals, where they cared for injured soldiers. And while men were out on the front line, women who had traditionally stayed at home took jobs in the factories to replace them. By the end of the war, nearly 3 million women were working in dangerous conditions in the factories, and although when the men returned many were forced to quit their roles, they had left a lasting, ineradicable legacy of their efforts.

MORE: The royal family honoured the country's war heroes on Remembrance Sunday 2017

They demonstrated that they were most certainly equal to men, and became a catalyst for the suffrage movement, which gave 8.5 million women the right to vote in 1918. This brooch is a way of saying thank you to the women, often with stories that were untold, who managed to fundamentally change how women were viewed in society.

RELATED: Watch 11-year-old Meghan Markle fighting for gender equality in TV interview

More News

See more