St.Margaret's News May 2021 | Page 4

Porcelain Poppies

On Anzac Day there were some porcelain poppies on the altar . Here is the back story :
The 888,246 poppies were created by the artists Paul Cummings and Tom Piper , the ceramic poppies progressively filled the Tower of London ’ s famous moat from 17 July until Armistice Day 11 November 2014 , each poppy representing a British or Colonial military fatality during WWI .
The installation was called “ Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red ” and commemorated the centenary of the start of WWI . Not one flower is the same , because they are all hand-made so each one is special . They were made by three teams from Derby , Stoke on Trent and Aylesbury and were planted by volunteers who flew in from around the world .
Members of the Royal Family visited the installation with The Duke and Duchess off Cambridge and Prince Harry marking the official opening by planting poppies . Later the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited and laid a wreath made off poppies , in the moat .
When the opportunity came to buy the poppies our daughter , Kristine bought these three in memory of our uncles who lost their lives .”
- Margaret Erickson
St Margaret ’ s News 4 May 2021