It was an honour to be part of historic display

The breathtaking sea of red at the Tower of London is one of the most stunning commemorations of the centenary of the start of the Great War.

Clare Jones, 30, from Kingsnorth, was one of hundreds of volunteers to plant poppies in memory of the fallen soldiers of the First World War.

She spent four hours planting hundreds of poppies in the nowfamous installation.

She said: “I heard that they were looking for volunteers so I went online and signed up because I wanted to be part of history and part of something worthwhile.

“My great-grandad was in the Royal Horse Artillery but fell off his horse and was discharged and at least two of my nan’s uncles were killed.

“It was an honour to take part in such an event, people lost their lives so we could live ours so to give up a few hours of my day to pay my respects was nothing.”

The mother-of-three said she had hoped the poppies, which are being removed this week, would be kept at the Tower for longer.

She added: “I think the poppies should stay there for longer – until 100 years after the end of the war to mark and remember that too.

“But I am so pleased I took part and did my bit. I lost count of how many poppies I planted but it was great to meet people from all over who wanted to pay their respects.”

The art installation, entitled Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, is the brainchild of designer Tom Piper.

It features exactly 888,246 poppies, each one representing a life lost in the First World War.

A team of 8,000 volunteers started dismantling the piece yesterday (Wednesday).

All the individual poppies have been bought for £25 each in aid of service charities, but there will also be temporary installations containing parts of the original set up across the country.

A permanent exhibition will finally be put in place at the Imperial War Museum in 2018.

Clare Jones helped to plant poppies at the Tower of London