A remembrance poppy display knitted by members of the Alston Moor community is looking ahead to next year which will mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Holly Ho, who lives in Alston, was inspired by beautiful displays of poppies at the Tower of London in 2014 and Carlisle Castle in 2018 which tied in with centenary commemorations marking the start and end of World War I.
In 2024, lamp lights of peace and beacons will be lit in villages, towns and cities across the UK to remember D-Day – the largest naval, air and land operation in history which signalled the beginning of the liberation of France and western Europe.
“After the Remembrance in 2018, I put a notice on Alston community facebook pages that I would like a poppy display in Alston in 2019,” said Holly.
“I went round to some groups and asked the ladies to knit and make some poppies for me. I had a good response from the ladies and our poppy display started in November, 2019.”
Holly has been knitting poppies ever since whenever she gets the chance while watching television and listening to the radio.
She and other knitters in the community, including Amy Walton, Dawn Jeffery, Maureen Hodgson, Josie Hind, Pat Strutter, Ann Morton, Florence Reed, Jocelyn, Julia Neubauer, Jane Lowry, Helen Williams, have so far made about 4,000 poppies which form the spectacular display at the Walton Memorial and the wall below it.
The outline for the purple horse, which first appeared in the display in 2022, was drawn by Alston Moor artist Sheila Mitton.
Each year, the display grows bigger and next year, Holly said the poppies would cover some of the grass above the wall.
