CAPTION: There are around 6000 hand-knitted and crocheted poppies made by people from around the world in the cascade at St Peter's church
Devon Church’s Poppy Cascade Commemorates VE Day 80th Anniversary
The Bishop of Exeter has taken part in a service at a church in Devon to bless over 6000 hand-knitted and crocheted poppies, made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
The stunning 64ft Remembrance Poppy Cascade is displayed cascading from the church tower at St Peter’s church in Bratton Flemming, North Devon.
The idea for the Cascade project came from local resident Sue Squire, who thought of it while watching the 80th Anniversary of D-Day last year.
Sue emailed people she knew, asking them to knit or crochet poppies, and supplied wool with the generous help of wool manufacturers.
A local YouTuber helped inspire an international response with thousands of poppies pouring in from the UK, Australia, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Rhodes, Sicily, Switzerland and the USA.
The bottom of the Cascade features poppies made by pupils of Bratton Fleming Primary School, Fawn Lodge, Bratton Fleming’s Pre-School and members of the parish Baby and Toddler Group.
Local people met and knitted poppies throughout the winter, which Sue said had the effect of providing company, knitting for a purpose, feeling valued and being in a warm space.
Sue said “This idea would literally never have got off the ground had it not been for the amazing help and support from hundreds of people to help the dream become a reality.
“I cannot knit or crochet and am indebted to everyone who has spent hours and hours creating different sizes and designs of poppies, some with leaves, sequins and beads, to create a stunning display which, I hope, will give a lot of pleasure to all who see it.
“I also hope they feel moved at the accompanying Memories Exhibition when they read the accounts of what people went through in the Second World War.”
So many poppies were received that the Cascade also includes an additional carpet of poppies which flows from the bottom of the Cascade to the church entrance to a life sized Tommy statue, with poppies formed as a garland around the church entrance.
The majority of the poppies are red and the Cascade shows many different shades of this colour. Other poppies are purple, to recognise the sacrifice of dogs, horses and pigeons during the conflict, while the white poppies signify the hope for peace and conscientious objectors.
The vicar of St Peter’s, Rev’d Prebendary Rosie Austin said, “It has been wonderful to see so many people come together not just to help create these poppies but also join in the work in attaching the poppies to the cargo nets so they can cascade down the church tower.
“It was incredible to see how far and wide these poppies came from, this really captured people’s hearts.
“These poppies are not just there for decoration of course, but they are an important symbol of peace. It’s a peace that we remember which came to Europe 80 years ago and also a peace that we continue to long for.
“We held a very moving service led by Bishop Mike, with our Mission Community pop up choir singing a Gaelic blessing at the end of the service followed by ‘The White Cliffs of Dover’. I am so grateful to all involved, and look forward to further community celebrations this week.”
As well as the service to bless the poppy cascade, there are a number of other events taking place in Bratton Fleming to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, which include a VE Day cafe in the village hall with a WWII singalong and optional 1940s fancy dress.
A special poem, written by a village resident for Remembrance Sunday on 11 November 2014 has been adapted for the VE Anniversary event and will be read during a special concert on 8 May.
And at 6pm St Peter’s bellringers will ring the church bells, along with churches across the UK, just as churches did to mark the end of the war in 1945.
The day will culminate by the lighting of the Lamp of Peace in the church at 9.30pm, in line with other lamps, beacons and bonfires nationwide.
