Hand-made poppies to honour WW1 victims
A display of 9,687 hand-made poppies will commemorate each of the Cornish servicemen killed during the First World War.
The poppies will be exhibited at the Cornwall Regimental Museum in Bodmin next month, as the town celebrates a century since the end of the war.
Mary Godwin, director of the regimental museum said: “Every poppy has been made by hand by members of the community of all ages. The dis- play is set to be a powerful reminder of the impact that the war had on Cornwall and marks the sacrifice of servicemen and their families.”
Bodmin Remembrance 100, a week of commemorative events, begins on November 4, with the poppies going on show from November 7.
The week’s events include screenings of Cornish Tommies – a short film specially made in Cornwall to mark the centenary; Charlie Chaplin’s 1918 film Shoulder Arms; and The Bodmin Trench, a short film made by digital media stu- dents from Bodmin College. The programme of events has been organised by a collective of community organisations including the Rotary Club of Bodmin and Cornwall Regimental Museum. The town alone lost 119 servicemen killed on active service.
Jeremy Cooper, deputy Mayor, said: “
“We hope our community events are a fitting tribute from the people of Bodmin, to the memory of the brave men and women of this town, county and country, who heroically sacrificed so much to preserve the freedom we all enjoy today. The whole community in Bodmin has come together to make sure our acts of remembrance and reflection marked by these events, are meaningful, engaging and, most of all, long-lasting.”
St Petroc’s Church and its bell tower will be floodlit during the week.
The town’s firework display on November 5 will be introduced with a one-minute silence and rendition of the Last Post.
On Sunday, November 11, Bodmin will join 1,000 com- munities around the country each lighting their own bonfire, and shortly after the bells of St Petroc’s church will ring out.
Stephen Facer, town clerk, said: “We invite everyone to follow the trail between four locations around the town – Cornwall’s Regimental Museum, Bodmin Town Museum, the Information Centre on Mount Folly and St Petroc’s Church to remember those who served in the war.”