A trailblazing Suffolk village has produced a memorable handcrafted poppy display for the second year running following the success of the project in 2017.
The outside of St Mary’s Church in Walsham-le-Willows, near Bury St Edmunds, was adorned with 6,000 knitted and crocheted poppies last year as part of the village’s remembrance commemorations.
The same display can be seen outside the building this year, along with another 3,000 poppies inside the church to mark the centenary of the Armistice.
Around 80 people in the village were involved in knitting and crocheting the poppies for the display.
Following the success of the last year’s display, the village received correspondence from around the world asking for advice – and a number of similar displays can also be seen around the county this year.
Jan Hall, who coordinated the display with village British Legion representative Fiona Glover, said the village has backed the project once again.
“Last year, we had 6,000 poppies which were hung from the tower,” she said.
“We decided to do it again this year and you never know how many you are going to get.
“But the village has been wonderful and we also have 3,000 poppies inside the church this year.
“There are quite a few handcrafted poppy displays around this year and I don’t know that’s because of what we did last year or because it’s the centenary anniversary.
“I’ve had people contact me from around the world, including Calgary in Canada, asking about how we did it, what type of net we used and how we hung the poppies.”
Inside the porch of the church, in The Causeway, there are 40 poppies on display to commemorate the 40 men from Walsham who died in the First and Second World Wars, whose names are listed on the war memorial in the churchyard.
This year tea, coffee and cake is also being served at the church between 10am and 4pm everyday until November 11 for anyone who wants to view the poignant display.
The remembrance display will be taken down on November 12 and Mrs Hall added that a decision will then be made as to what happens to the poppies.
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