I am sure someone will cross-post but

1. The red badges are poppies - worn for remeberence day - Novemeber 11.

2. A whip round is a collection. To whip up is to agitate. A political whip is a ficed party line, so this all depends on context.

3. The capitalisation is, I suspect, just a web based movement away from proper punctuation.

4. White Islands and Highlands - Over to you Tug. It's a new one on me.

DeG