School's poppy Tommy to form part of Ellesmere's Remembrance service

The display, in the form of a soldier ‘Poppy Tommy’, has been produced by members of the school’s lunchtime crochet club who spent weeks making poppies to promote the Royal British Legion’s annual remembrance appeal.

Parents and other members of the local community have been sponsoring poppies, with some being dedicated to relatives who served in the two world wars and other conflicts.

Following the half-term break, the completed artwork was put on show in the school’s reception area, but fundraisers from the Legion’s Ellesmere and District branch were so impressed, they asked to borrow it for the weekend so that it can be displayed during the Remembrance Sunday service at St Mary’s church, which follows the annual parade and 11 am two minutes silence at the War Memorial.

Branch chairman Bob McBride said: “The school invited some of our members to see the work in progress and when we returned to see what they’d done, we felt it deserved to be shown to the wider community on Sunday.

“When we asked the vicar, The Rev Pat Hawkins, she kindly agreed that it should be displayed in the church so many more people can see it. It’s a wonderful piece of work and the school should feel very proud of the way its young people have wanted to show their support for the Poppy as a symbol of remembrance and as a way of raising money for members of our armed forces community needing care and help.”

Teaching assistant Angela Jones who helped staff in the school’s maths department set up the crochet club, said : “We’re very proud of what’s been achieved and delighted that ‘Poppy Tommy’ will play a part in Remembrance Sunday. Now we’re looking forward to making more poppies to add to the display for next year.”