COMMENT

An 18-tonne “Moving Poppy” will take tales of remembrance on tour around Scotland under a £750,000 project to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

The specially-commissioned vehicle will feature a micro-museum, a mini-factory for the making of poppies and wreaths, and a classroom for school and community groups.

Visitors will be able to hear recordings of accounts of military life from veterans, as well as view exhibits drawn from the collection of the Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, in Edinburgh, where 40 exservicemen hand-make more than five million poppies and 15,000 wreaths every year.

The charity Poppy Scotland says the “free-to-access and accessible-to-all” mobile unit will be aimed at increasing awareness of the heritage of the symbol of remembrance and its role as “a symbol of unity and hope.”

The Heritage Lottery Fundbacked venture is also aimed at helping to ensure that young people across the country are well informed about the poppy and its enduring relevance, as well as issuing facing modern-day armed forces personnel.

Poppy Scotland, which raises more than £3 million each year for veterans and their families, is expected to host more than 200 events a year on the road inside the “Moving Poppy”, which will be able

“It will ensure that the sacrifices made during that conflict, and those since, are understood and recognised for generations to come”

MARK BIBBEY