Waterfall of poppies at Cleobury Mortimer church to remember war
A stunning waterfall of poppies can be seen cascading from the top of a Shropshire church in a tribute to the fallen soldiers of the Great War.
The masterpiece, at St Mary’s Church in Cleobury Mortimer, is made of thousands of individual hand-made poppies from local people, plus others sent from around the UK and as far away as the USA.
Keen knitters answered the call by sisters Kate Pearce and Sarah Barnsley and friend Clare Hadwell, who appealed for donations of poppies after seeing a similar display in Hereford.
They have the support of the Royal British Legion and the vicar and were soon inundated with donations after contacting local organisations and putting up an appeal on social media in June.
“The WI, two craft groups, the St Mary’s Place social group and Slimming World members have all got on board with making the poppies,” said Kate.
“One lady in Church Stretton has sent about 50 a week, and we have had lots of anonymous donations left at our doors.
“The response has just been amazing, the whole community has got involved and it is wonderful to see everyone’s efforts finally pay off.”
The poppies have now been strung together and hung from the top of the church tower ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
The total number is being kept under wraps – though Kate said it was more than the total population of Cleobury Mortimer, as there is a competition running for people to guess the figure.
A coffee morning for all those who contributed to the project is being held on Saturday. Donations are also being collected for the RBL.
