gdn / gbw - peace

Hybrid tea Rose "Peace"

The rose became known as "Peace" in the following way. In early 1945 rose grower Meilland wrote to Field Marshal Alan Brooke, the principal author of the master strategy that won the Second World War, to thank him for his key part in the liberation of France and to ask if Brooke would give his name to the rose. Brooke declined saying that, although he was honoured to be asked, his name would soon be forgotten and a much better and more enduring name would be "Peace".

The adoption of the trade name "Peace" was publicly announced in the United States on 29 April 1945. This was the very day that Berlin fell, a day considered a turning point in the Second World War in Europe.
Later in 1945 Peace roses were given to each of the delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco, each with a note which read:
"We hope the 'Peace' rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace".