Cirencester War Memorial

The Cirencester War Memorial stands in Market Place outside the Church of St John the Baptist. It was dedicated on 31 October 1918.

The memorial commemorates those from the region who died serving in the First World War (210) and the Second World War.

A list of names of those who died serving in the two wars is inscribed on the west face of the south porch of the church.

When we visited the Church of St John the Baptist in June 2015 a section of the church was set aside for recording the history of the First World War.

The period covered on this board was April to June 1915.

When we returned in August 2018 the events occurring in the second half of the year were recorded.

The above notice informs one group of soldiers at the Front of the Cease Fire at 11.am that day. They are instructed to 'Form up and march back independently to the Chateau Harveng at once. Do not forget to bring the canteen with you.' Chateau d'Harveng is in Mons.

While we were at the church a lady was working on a display of knitted and crocheted poppies to be used as part of the commemorative service remembering the declaration of the end of the war on the 11 November 2018.

War Memorials Online Cirencester Cross
Historic England Cirencester War Memorial
CAHS - Cirencester War Memorials

5000 Poppies Project continues

Below is the link to the next stage of the 50000 Poppies Project.
2017 and we are back at it! 

The next target is 2018 - commemorating the end of World War I.

The project organisers have committed to make 50,000 lapel poppies for the RSL to sell as part of their 2018 Poppy Appeal … these will be our own “special edition” hand crafted poppies to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the end of World War I, and a wonderful way for all of us collectively to contribute to the ongoing wellbeing of current and former members of Australian and allied defence forces and their dependants.

The organisers are hoping to deliver at least 10,000 to the RSL in the first half of the this year just to get the ball rolling … the remainder will be delivered periodically throughout 2017 and into 2018 to allow time for the RSL to prepare for them sale … because the plan is that they will be packaged a little differently to the standard Poppy Appeal poppies.

Poppies for this project need to be small to medium, tight knit or crochet poppies .. around 9 cm in diameter.  Slightly larger is ok so long as they don’t “wilt”.  It would be very helpful if you could attach a pin to the back but if that’s not possible then it’s not a major problem, but the less post processing for the RSL the better.

If you go to the patterns page on the blog the Chelsea patterns are perfect and Ing’s poppy pattern is gorgeous but you can make just about any one of these poppies and it will work … the key is the tension … the important thing is to avoid flopping.

Keep an eye on the 5000 Poppies Project blog for the latest information.

Poppies in Perth

When walking through Cathedral Place in Perth on Remembrance Day we discovered a 'field' of knitted and crocheted poppies poppies behind St George's Cathedral. Additional poppies were added to the display at the Remembrance Day service held later in the morning. A total of 7,200 poppies were used in the final display.

Weeping Window poppies

The Black Watch Museum is the first location in mainland Scotland to host the Weeping Window exhibition which is touring to commemorate those who died during World War I. The ceramic poppies in the display are a selection of the poppies that filled the moat of the Tower of London in 2014. Full article

5000 Poppies continued

The 5000 Poppies project initiated in Australia as a community project for the 2015 Anzac Day commemorations has crossed the world to London as part of the Chelsea Flower Show.

3000,000 knitted and crocheted poppies have been transported to London by Qantas. The display is in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. As well as the poppies from Australia another 26,000 poppies with stems, including 1,200 poppies from the Knitting for Victory project, have been included in the display.

Further information:
Chelsea Flower Show poppies - Telegraph 24 May 2016
The day has arrived - 5000 Poppies
5000 Poppies at Chelsea Flower Show - Anzac 100 Victoria

Giant Poppy Art Project

Another Anzac Day project utilising the poppy, this time in Auckland, New Zealand
Giant Poppy Art Project

If the video from the official website does not work the following link takes you to a video about the project.

The aim of the project is to use 59,000 red metal discs, representing New Zealanders killed or wounded during the First World War, to prepare an installation  40 metres wide in the Auckland Domain.

Money raised from the project will be used to assist ex-service personnel and their families.

Poppies in London part 2

7 August 2014

When we visited London in August we visited the Tower of London to view the display of ceramic poppies that was being assembled in the dry moat around the tower.

7 August 2014

The first poppy was planted on 17 July by Crawford Butler, the longest serving Tower of London Yeoman Warder. The installation was opened on 5 August 2014 to commemorate the beginning of World War I. The final poppy is to be placed in the moat on Remembrance Day making a total of 888,246 poppies - one poppy for each person from Britain and the Commonwealth who died during the First World War.

During the past three months the exhibition of poppies has become a focal point in London. The display was created by Paul Cummins and staged by Tom Piper. A large team of volunteers have been involved in making the poppies and assembling the display around the tower. The exhibition is entitled Blood swept lands and seas of red. A video showing how the poppies were made can be found on the Tower of London Remembers webpage. Each evening, from 11 August, at sunset the names of 180 Commonwealth soldiers were read as part of a special ceremony ending with the Last Post. The Roll of Honour archive, providing videos of each night's ceremony, can be located on the Tower of London Remembers website. At night the moat was floodlit so the poppies could still be viewed.

The dismantling of the display will begin on 12 November 2014 but parts of the display, including the weeping window and the wave, will remain until the end of November. After the exhibition ends thousands of the poppies will be part of a touring exhibition in Britain until 2018. The poppies will then be on display at the Imperial War Museum. The rest of the poppies have been sold at £25 each and will be distributed to the purchasers. The funds raised will be divided between Service welfare organisations.

Tower of London Remembers

First poppy planted in Tower of London - Royal British Legion

888,246 poppies - Designboom

Thousands of poppies to go on tour - BBC News London

The red sea - The Daily Mail 12 September 2014

Final poppy laid - BBC News London 11 November 2014

Drone view of poppies - BBC News London 

A postscript:
In 1914-1915 the Tower of London was used as a recruiting depot for the 10th Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). They called themselves The Ditchers as they had joined up in the Tower moat or ditch. Arms and munitions were also stored in the Tower. The Tower of London was also used as a prison and place of execution for 11 spies arrested in Britain.

During the Second World War the dry moat was used as a vegetable garden.

Remembrance Day 2014

November 11 is Remembrance Day commemorating the end of the First World War when the armistice between the Allies and Germany came into effect at 11 am on 11 November 1918. The website - First World War.com - contains information about the signing of a number of armistices including the one commemorated on 11 November.

A series of display windows at Nunawading Library commemorate the sacrifice made not only during the First World War but also in the Second World War and subsequent military conflicts in which Australian soldiers have been involved.

The Diggers Database listing the names of those from Whitehorse and Manningham who served during World War I is one of the local history databases that can be accessed via the Whitehorse Manningham Libraries' library catalogue.

Red poppies have become a symbol for remembrance and knitted poppies form an effective part of the display along with the poppies sold each year by the RSL.

The 5000 Poppies project encourages people to knit or crochet poppies to form part of a mass display of poppies at Federation Square on Anzac Day 2015. Doncaster Library is a collection point for hand-crafted poppies for this project.

LEST WE FORGET

Knitting for Victory

Knitting for Victory is a project from the UK encouraging the knitting of poppies throughout the world, similar to our 5000 Poppies project. In one of the posts they acknowledge the 5000 Poppies project as the inspiration for their project. The Knitting for Victory Facebook page includes photos of a variety of knitted poppies, patterns, kits being sold as a fundraiser and lots of pictures of people knitting poppies.

According to one of the posts:
The purpose of the FaceBook page 'Knitting for Victory' is to unite knitters from around the world who wish to knit poppies and be part of a team unified in knitting and fundraising for the British Legion's Poppy Appeal 2014.
West Yorkshire Spinners, Artysano and Rowan have all supplied yarn for us to make poppy knitting kits thus expanding the opportunity for new knitters to join us from around the globe!
As well as keeping the art of knitting alive we are also focused on fundraising particularly in this the centenary of the First World War.

Another worthwhile community project commemorating World War I. 

Poppies in London

The centenary of the commencement of the First World War was commemorated on August 4. In France on August 5 we watched a report on Sky News about a project at the Tower of London where a display of ceramic poppies is being prepared in memory of the servicemen from Britain and the British Empire who lost their lives during World War I.

Additional information about the Tower of London Remembers project can be found on the Tower of London website.

 Two days later, on our first day in London, we walked to the Tower of London to visit the display. It was a spectacular sight and when complete, later in the year, it will be a moving memorial to the men who died.

The display of poppies continues around three sides of the Tower of London. Cascades of poppies fall from two windows on different sides of the tower while a third cascade appears over a garden wall.

In some sections there are only two or three rows of poppies but we watched the many volunteers adding additional poppies to the display.

5000 Poppies

My attempt at knitting poppies

Anzac Day, 25 April, in Australia and New Zealand is a day of commemoration when we remember those from our countries who have been involved in military conflicts - particularly World War I and World War II but also other conflicts.

Next year will be the centenary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli and many projects are planned to commemorate the centenary. One project is 5000 Poppies: a Community Tribute of Respect and Remembrance.

A post in a new blog appeared in June 2013 announcing the project:
The aim of this project is to create a field of 5000 poppies which will be displayed publicly in Melbourne on ANZAC Day 2015 as a community tribute to commemorate more than a century of service by Australian servicemen and women in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations in which Australians have been involved.

Less than a year later the project has captured the imagination of craft-minded people in Australia and the proposed target is now 20,000 poppies to be displayed in Federation Square, Melbourne, in 2015. Patterns are available for making knitted or crocheted poppies and also in felt and other fabrics. Workshops on making poppies are held from time to time in Federation Square. Throughout the country local communities have been making and displaying poppies to mark Anzac Day. As photos in the 5000 Poppies blog and on other websites show the mass display of crafted poppies make eye-catching displays. New Zealanders are also involved in the project making poppies for displays in their country.