St Mary's Church in West Bank, Widnes, has unveiled a 131ft cascade of more than 15,000 handmade knitted and crocheted poppies, created by hundreds of people from the local community and beyond to mark Remembrance Sunday.
Project exceeds its original target
The project, launched ahead of Remembrance Sunday, began with a vision to create a cascade of poppies flowing down the church's 108ft tower. Almost a year later, the target of 15,000 poppies has been exceeded and the installation is complete.
Contributors range from pre-school children to knitters in their nineties, with one member of the church community crocheting 3,000 poppies. People from across Halton, the wider UK and as far afield as Canada took part.
Community and tributes
Rev Michelle Goodwin, Vicar of St Mary's Church, said: "This Remembrance Day, more than 15,000 poppies will surround our church in West Bank, forming a remarkable 108ft tower cascade created by hundreds of people aged two to 92. Each poppy represents a person, a story and an act of remembrance."
Volunteers sewed thousands of poppies onto netting donated by West Bank Boat Club. The display also features a tribute to animals that served and died during the world wars, including a life-sized war horse, dog and pigeon created by Riverside College students, alongside three life-sized handcrafted service personnel figures and a hand carved wooden pigeon made by learners at Gateway Community.
Wider support and contributions
Churches, schools, the Boys' Brigade, Girlguiding groups and local businesses helped create the poppies. Two contributors in Canada, including one who grew up in West Bank, knitted more than 1,000 poppies between them, weighing 22lbs in total.
The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev. and Rt Hon Stephen Cottrell, made a poppy during his visit to St Mary's. Widnes Fire Service, Widnes Police and the Widnes Vikings Wheelchair Rugby team also joined volunteers to help with the task.
