Poppy art installation in tribute to fallen heroes

A POPPY installation was installed at a church in Woodcote to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

The display, which has more than 570 poppies, can be seen hanging in St Leonard’s Church in South Stoke Road.

Residents contributed their hand-knitted poppies of all shapes and sizes to the church to be included.

The average poppy took around one-and-a-half hours to knit and around three minutes to attach, equating to more than 900 hours to complete the project.

Sandra Evans, who heads the church’s flower team, initiated the project.

Ms Evans and three other knitting ladies formed a team to sew the poppies on to the netting to form the cascade.

She said: “I put a request to the congregation with posters around the village asking for help because I thought it would be nice to do something in honour of the 80th anniversary.

“We had around six weeks to collect them from the unknown knitters, who would leave them in the church, and assemble it.”

Ms Evans thanked the “unknown knitters” who helped bring the project to life. She said: “I feel sad I don’t know the people who have helped create it because it has been a bit of a labour of love.

“These people have all come forward to help and support in such a loving way and I can’t thank them enough.”

Ms Evans said one anonymous knitter contributed around 100 poppies.

She said: “The lady knitter put a little card and chocolates with her poppies when she left it at the church, saying how lovely it was to participate.”

Ms Evans believes it is important to remember soldiers who have fought for their country.

She said: “My grandson is in the armed forces, which brings it home, but I think it’s important to remember those who have and continue to serve because they lay  down their lives on the front line for our country.”

Ms Evans started flower arranging for the church around seven years ago. Now, she orchestrates flower arrangements for major festivals, including Easter, Harvest and Christmas.

She said: “I had done a few artistic things with my local drama group and when I finished that, I was asked if I would like to do the arranging, because the lady who had done it beautifully for many years was no longer able to do it.”

She views arranging as an artistic pursuit, describing it as “painting a picture”.

Ms Evans developed her skills using YouTube videos and flower clubs, preferring to work alone to maintain concentration on her creations.

She said: “I have always looked upon the role as an honour, by painting a picture with flowers. When arranging, I have to be in my own space and serene. I will help the other ladies with their creations but then I will go off and do my own so I can concentrate.”

She said: “I sat down and looked at many videos and picked up techniques as I went along. I also went to flower clubs to help develop those further.”