Avalanche of knitted poppies adorns North Devon church for VE Day 80 celebrations

A breath-taking cascade of more than 6,000 hand-knitted and crocheted poppies from across the world has been created for Bratton Fleming Parish Church to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.

The 64-foot cascade of poppies flowing from the church tower and surrounding the entrance at St Peter’s Church will form a stunning centrepiece for the village’s VE Day 80 events.

Following an appeal for volunteers to knit or crochet poppies of remembrance, thousands poured in from across the world, from the UK, Australia, Canada, Hungary, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Puerto Rico, Rhodes, Sicily, Switzerland and the USA.

The idea came from resident Sue Squire, who thought of it while watching the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Sue emailed her contacts asking them to knit or crochet poppies to form the cascade and supplied wool with the generous help of wool manufacturers.

Above: The display of poppies on Bratton Fleming's church. Credit: Sue Squire

The appeal quickly started to gain momentum and volunteers were stunned when poppies began arriving from around the globe.

A local YouTuber helped inspire the international response while, locally people met and knitted poppies all through the winter.

Sue said: “This idea would literally never have got off the ground had it not been for the amazing help and support from hundreds of people to help the dream become a reality.

“I cannot knit or crochet and am indebted to everyone who has spent hours and hours creating different sizes and designs of poppies, some with leaves, sequins and beads, to create a stunning display which, I hope, will give a lot of pleasure to all who see it.”

Above: The Bishop of Exeter, the Right Reverend Mike Harrison, blesses the cascade of poppies at St Peter’s Church, Bratton Fleming. Credit: Rev Katie Welborn van Santen

So many poppies were sent in that an additional carpet of poppies flows from the bottom of the cascade to the church entrance to a life-sized Tommy statue. There will also be a poppy curtain under the east window inside the church.

The majority of the poppies are red and the cascade shows many shades of this colour. But others are purple, to recognise the sacrifice of dogs, horses and pigeons during the conflict, while the white poppies signify the hope for peace and conscientious objectors.

Bratton Fleming has plenty of events taking place on VE Day itself, Thursday, May 8, with the church itself hosting a Memories Exhibition for local people to share their memories and memorabilia of the original VE Day and the war.

From 2-5pm, the regular Thursday Café in the Village Hall will have a VE Day theme, with special refreshments, bunting, optional 1940s costume and a wartime singalong.

The bells of St Peter’s will ring out at 6.15pm and there is a concert at the church with The Jubilee Singers from 7pm. A special poem, written by a village resident for Remembrance Sunday on November 11, 2014 has been adapted for the event and will be read during the concert.

The day will culminate with the lighting of a Lamp of Peace in the church after the concert at 9.30pm, in line with other lamps, beacons and bonfires across Europe.

The cascade was blessed on Sunday (May 4) by the new Bishop of Exeter, the Right Reverend Mike Harrison, who led a service at the church.

Above: The Bishop of Exeter with the Reverend Prebendary Rosie Austin, Vicar of Bratton Fleming, at the blessing of the poppy cascade. Credit: Sue Squire