A RIVER of poppies will flow outside Fladbury Church and the village’s primary school to mark this year’s Remembrance commemorations and 100 years of the Royal British Legion.
The ‘Fladbury Flow’ has involved people from the village and beyond, with more than 3,800 knitted and crocheted poppies displayed along the church wall in the centre of Fladbury.
The idea came from two neighbours, Angela Fowler and Elaine Stevens, who sourced sponsorship to create ‘poppy kits’, which included colourfast yarn and a pattern for either crocheting or knitting the poppies.
Kits were given out for a minimum donation of £1, which went straight into the RBL collection tin. To make it as inclusive as possible, members of the Fladbury Knitting and Crochet Group along with a few others were recruited as tutors.
“We wanted to mark the centenary of the Royal British Legion (RBL) and honour all those from our village who served their country in the World Wars,” Angela said.
“We thought it could be a fund-raiser but were also keen for it to be something that was affordable and which anyone could join in with.”
“With people passing on their skills to others, it meant that anyone could have a go at creating at least one poppy!
“The fantastic thing was that it has really got people talking about their family history and stories from the wars. It’s connected people throughout the village, which has been brilliant as we emerge from the pandemic,” she added.
The original aim was to collect 2,340 poppies – 10 for each person from the village who served in the wars. However, many more have been produced and they still continue to come in, with people asking for kits from as far away as Nottingham and Eastbourne.
A ceremony will be held tomorrow (Saturday) outside the church in the presence of the combined Cadet forces along with a Standard Bearer and bugler and a 101-year-old veteran, Harold Wilson.
He will be accompanied by a representative from the Western Front Association to give talks, storytelling and lead a question and answer session.
The poppies will be on display until November 21 along with an exhibition in church telling the stories of some of the people from the village who served in the wars.
At the end of November, all the poppies will be carefully taken down and laundered.
Some will be turned into blankets or adornments to hats and sold on, and some will be given to the RBL who have a team which reuses knitted and crocheted poppies.
Visit www.facebook.com/thefladburyflow for more.
