If you wear a red poppy this year, it will mean something different. The Royal British Legion has said that the symbol that has long represented remembrance of the UK’s armed forces will also stand for civilian victims, not just of war, but terrorism too.

The position taken by the 98-year old charity, which distributes 40m red poppies a year, opens up the official meaning of the famous symbol to encapsulate the memory of victims of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017, as well as civilians in Nazi Germany in the second world war.

Previously its “what is remembrance” web page said “the red poppy as a symbol relates to the armed forces community specifically, but not exclusively, and acknowledges the wider impact of conflict”.

It has been changed to say it “remembers” the sacrifice of the British and Commonwealth armed forces, “pays tribute” to families and the emergency services, and says “we acknowledge innocent civilians who have lost their lives in conflict and acts of terrorism”.

The Legion did not make a public announcement which reflects the sensitivity of the issue for a charity that last year raised £50m for veterans of British forces and their families through the sale of red poppies and associated items.

The charity confirmed on Tuesday that it had adapted its position ahead of the launch of its annual poppy appeal next week. A spokesperson highlighted shifting public opinion about what remembrance should mean, particularly after the spate of terrorist attacks in the UK in 2017.

“Our core positioning hasn’t changed but we do want to make it more explicit in our language, because remembrance is inclusive of all modern Britain and its important communities know their views and values are reflected in our activity,” the Legion’s assistant director of remembrance, Robert Lee told the Guardian.

“Remembrance has a wider meaning and role, and this does include all civilians affected by conflict and terrorism. Remembrance paves the way for reconciliation, but it is up to each generation to find reconciliation for themselves, and the Legion upholds its place bringing people and communities together to have these important conversations.”

The wording appears to chime with public opinion, as revealed in a survey of 2,094 members of the public last week ahead of the launch of the Peace Pledge Union’s white poppies, a pacifist symbol. The PPU campaigns for the remembrance of all victims of war.

The poll by Populus for the PPU found 86% of people agreed that “all people who have died in war, including civilians should be remembered on Remembrance Sunday”. It also found that Remembrance Sunday should also involve remembering people of all nationalities who have died in war.

“We have now seen that the majority of the public when asked about messages behind remembrance agree with the messages behind the white poppy, even if white poppies are not mentioned,” said Symon Hill, a spokesman for the PPU.

The Legion’s move is likely to open a new chapter in an ongoing culture war about the meaning of poppies. In 2017, Col Richard Kemp, who led British forces in Iraq, attacked the sale of white poppies in schools as “indoctrinating children with a leftwing political agenda”.

Meanwhile in 2013, the second world war veteran Harry Leslie Smith declared he would no longer wear a red poppy because he would not allow his “obligation as a veteran to remember those who died in the great wars to be coopted by … politicians to justify our folly in Iraq, our morally dubious war on terror and our elimination of one’s right to privacy”.

The Soldiers’ Charity, which supports veterans and their families, welcomed the Legion’s move as “an addition to, not a dilution of” the remembrance of armed forces.

“It’s a modern reflection of the cost of conflict,” said Dave Roberts, a spokesman, who said the introduction of terrorism victims was “sadly a reflection of the times we now live in”.

“I come from an air force family and knew people who were in Bomber Command [which carried out devastating air raids across Germany] and the innocent victims of war are absolutely something they would want to look back and reflect on.”