A STUNNING installation of over 1,000 handmade poppies will go on display in Whitehaven to mark 100 years since the 1918 armistice.
Created by hundreds of local schoolchildren and members of the public over past weeks, the remembrance project has been organised by The Beacon Museum and is encouraging participants to reuse plastic bottles to create their own plastic poppies.
It will go on display from Wednesday, November 7 along West Strand on the harbourside.
Poppies were first depicted as a symbol of remembrance in John McCrae’s 1915 poem, ‘In Flanders Fields’. The analogy soon took root in the years after the end of World War One and became an emotive icon of sacrifice for those who served and were lost in battle.
Magda Jackson, a Visitor Host at the museum, has been creating poppies with participants.
She said: “This type of poppy has helped to focus minds on those who served in conflicts past. The fact that every poppy is unique reflects the fact that those who served and died were not faceless names, but people with unique stories and familial ties to the area.”
Alan Gillon, Learning and Engagement Officer, added: “In times of war, these symbols represented the sacrifice of those whose who placed the needs of the nation above their own.
“For younger generations, the recycling message also demonstrates a similar perspective on what is shaping their world. It is an important message that despite being in a time of relative peace, major world issues will require them to put wider needs ahead of their own in their day to day lives.”
The project is running in conjunction with the museum’s exhibition, A Brave New World: The Armistice and Beyond, which runs until Sunday, November 11. On the final day, which is Remembrance Sunday, the exhibit – and the whole museum – are free to visit. Poppy-making stations will also remain open until November 11. The poppy installation will be on display until Sunday, November 18.
For more information, telephone The Beacon Museum on 01946 592302 or visit www.thebeacon-whitehaven.co.uk.
