Stow Parish Archive, having been inspired by the recent Tower of London Great War poppy installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ and their own work on the Great War, wish to erect a commemorative poppy display in the village of Stow.
The display would consist of a series of ceramic poppies displayed near to or beside the existing war memorial.
Every member of the community who wishes to take part will have the opportunity of crafting their own poppy under the supervision of Marianne Finlayson, a Stow-based ceramicist. This might be to commemorate someone with a personal connection or just to offer respect to those who died in the Great War. There will also be an opportunity to craft a forget-me-not for those who fought but survived the war. Each poppy or forget-me-not will be personalised by the name and date of death, where appropriate, of the individual being commemorated. The research for this is being provided by members of the Archive Group.
It is intended that the display will be launched on November 11th 2015 and will last until the 11th November 2018 to coincide with the Great War centenary commemorations. Poppies and forget-me-nots will be added to the display over that period.
It is envisaged that the display will be removed sometime in the early spring of 2019 at which point members of the community may take away their poppies and forget-me-nots.
The Archive hopes that this display will be an opportunity for people in the community to be involved in the Great War centenary commemorations.
As this will be a visual display in the heart of the village the Archive would like to gather as many views as possible on what the display should look like and where it should be sited. The Archive has produced several design options and hope that as many people as possible will give their opinions.
