We finally saw the mass of red ceramic poppies surrounding Tower Bridge, an amazing sight that covers the 16 acre moat. When the instalment is finished on November 11th 2014 there will be 888,246 poppies, one for each British fatality in the first world war.
The poppies are being created by Paul Cummins who regularly creates 3D artwork focusing on nature. He was inspired by a diary entry of an English soldier from Derbyshire who later died in Flanders. The young soldiers were encouraged to keep a will and a last letter to their families in case of tragedy, but one line inspired Cummins to create a tribute to the fallen heroes - 'The blood-swept lands and seas of red, where angels fear to tread'.
Thousands of poppies are still in full production now at Cummins' ceramic workshop in Derbyshire, eagerly awaited by another host of volunteers. When the instalment finishes on November 11th, they will then be sold for £25 each, planning to raise an estimated £15 million for service charities.
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In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae, May 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
