Tower of London moat of blood

The poppies outside the Tower are a piercing reminder of the hundreds of thousands who died.

It looks like a moat of blood because the arrogant ruling class and the politicians and generals defend their power and privilege with the blood of better people than themselves. 

After the first world war, people celebrated peace and they wore the poppy to remember the fallen. The last thing they wanted was military parades and exhortations to go and fight another war...and another...and another. The politicians hypocritically pretend to honour "the unknown soldier". They conveniently forget the "unknown civilian". 

There is all the difference in the world between the attitude of the working class towards remembering the war and the attitude of the captains and the kings. Trotsky remarked in "The Death Agony of Capitalism":

"When the small farmers or workers speak about the defence of the fatherland, they means defence of their homes, their  families and other similar families from invasion, bombs and poison gas. The capitalist and his journalist understand by the defence of the fatherland the seizure of colonies and markets, the predatory increase of the "national" share of world income. Capitalist pacifism and patriotism are shot through with deceit. In the pacifism and even patriotism of the oppressed, there are elements which reflect on the one hand a hatred of destructive war, and on the other a clinging to what they believe to be their own good."

War is often enough a war between the rich and the poor. And the rich make absolutely sure that somebody else does the actual fighting for them.