A symbol of salvation to desperate soldiers in the Crimean War, the snowdrop retains its place in our hearts today.
Just as the poppy became a memorial to the casualties of the First World War, so the snowdrop can be seen as a symbol of the Crimean conflict 60 years before. It was British troops fighting in the Crimean War who christened the snowdrop ‘the flower of consolation’. The failure to provide them with enough food and warm clothing during the first freezing winter of the conflict left them bitter and demoralised. Then, in early 1855, the bare earth began to come alive with flowers, and their flagging spirits revived.
The soldiers welcomed the flowers with delight,ome soldiers planted snowdrops and crocuses around their tents and huts, and many others dug up bulbs to send home.
