Islanders’ poppy tribute made with heartfelt love
Islanders have created thousands of handmade poppies to remember the 10 men from Luing who died in the First World War.
The cascade of poppies took six months to make and was kept under wraps until it was revealed at a community meal in the Atlantic Centre earlier this month ready to mark the centenary of Armistice Day on November 11, 2018.
Each poppy has been lovingly-made to become part of the eye-catching installation that will stay on display until the end of the year.
There were so many poppies left over that 10 remembrance wreaths were also made – one for each of the Luing men lost.
It was Morag Mawson who came up with the idea of the cascade, which quickly got another 30 islanders involved, crafting the poppies at home then bringing them to the top-secret meetings once a month to attach them to a recycled fishing net kept under sheets at Cullipool Village Hall.
Mrs Mawson was inspired by the sea of blood-red ceramic poppies displayed at the Tower of London in 2014 which attracted worldwide media attention.
The Luing installation’s oldest poppy-maker was 93-year-old Elizabeth Lyon, whose relative Douglas Campbell Gibson was a lieutenant in the Royal Engineers when he fell in action at the Somme on March 25, 1918.
Mrs Lyon commemorated Lt Gibson on one of the individually painted leaves made from luggage labels that people are being invited to add to the cascade as a personal act of remembrance.
The tiniest poppy made a journey of more than 9,000 miles, all the way from Australia, to be included, another was made in Leeds, Yorkshire.
‘People came together from across the island to get involved. It got the creative juices going and even kicked off a bit of one-upmanship to see who could make a poppy different from all the others,’ said Mrs Mawson.
‘I’m so proud of the result. It’s beyond my wildest dream. It’s hard to comprehend that so many men lost their lives between 1914 and 1918 and I really hope that this small tribute will go some way to giving our thanks for the sacrifice they made.’
The stunning red poppies, knitted, embroidered, crocheted, felted, sculpted from recycled waste and some even crafted from cupcake cases and pipe cleaners, flows over the centre’s balcony and wraps round a ceiling beam before flowing down towards the lower floor – the 10 wreaths are on poignant display in the window.
Donations will go towards the Easdale branch of the Royal British Legion and it is hoped the cascade will go on tour of other venues around the island in years to come.
Luing will be lighting a beacon at 7pm on Sunday November 11. There will be a two-minute silence at 11am that day and a remembrance service at Kilchattan Church at 10.45am.
The Luing men who fell in the Great War were Private James Cowan of the 7th Highland Light Infantry; Private Angus McInnes of the 8th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders; Seaman Peter McDougall of the Royal Naval Reserve; Private Alexander Campbell of the 8th Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders; SergeantMajor Alexander Nicholson of the Royal Garrison Artillery; Seaman George B McIntyre of the Royal Naval Reserve; Private Hugh McKechnie of the 6th Cameron Highlanders; Seaman Angus McDougall of the Royal Naval Reserve; Private Joseph McLean of the Machine Gun Corps; and Lieutenant Duncan Turner of the Carnatic Infantry in the Indian Army.