Villagers in Cowfold crochet more than 1,500 poppies in Remembrance display

And their creation has resulted in a 22.5 square metre display of a sea of poppies at the entrance to St Peter’s Church in the village.

The display was the brainchild of local residents Helen Holmes and Sarah Goodyer with help from Deb Neville, along with a team of crafters who make Cowfold village’s post box toppers.

"We have been making the toppers for postboxes for several years and they are always appreciated by the village residents,” said Deb. “So, inspired by the sea of poppies and a desire to show my respect and thanks to our Armed Forces, I proposed the ambitious project to the topper team.

“I was delighted when they shared my enthusiasm. When we got the go ahead from the church it was all systems go and one of the team put out the call to our brilliant community.”

Around 20 residents responded and spent a year working on crochet and knitted poppies of different sizes and styles. “The makers included experienced crafters and people who learnt to crochet to be part of the project,” said Deb.

She said one woman and her daughter learnt together and between them made more than 70 poppies – many of them made while they were at hospital waiting for her younger daughter to come out of surgery.

“As well as making the poppies, many of the makers came together over three Sundays in October to sew all of them onto the backing fabric. It was really nice to work with so many others as a group community effort.”

Alongside the large installation at St Peter’s Church, a smaller version is being displayed by the village cross and ‘soldier’ near the start of the route paraded by the village Scouts on Remembrance Sunday.