Wall of 2000 poppies on display at The Mother Shipton pub in Stamshaw ahead of Remembrance Sunday
The display was a community effort
A display of 2000 poppies has been installed on the wall of The Mother Shipton pub in Stamshaw ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
The pub, run by Andrea Best and her son Spencer, put up the installation of poppies after the community pulled together to source and sew the poppies on to the display.
David Coomber, a Royal Naval veteran who served in the Falklands, is a regular at the pub, and helped the Best family arrange the display.
He said: “It started off as a conversation between myself and Spencer, and then it kind of developed into an idea. We wanted to do something different for Remembrance Sunday, and I saw the walls of poppies around and they look good.
“So then it became a search for getting people to knit the poppies for us. We put up adverts and ended up getting about 2,000 poppies. We got about 500 from people in Wales, about 500 from a group in Sussex, from all over.
“By the time we got the poppies and we got the net ready to go, it took about two days. I started on the first day, and on the second day we put it out like a factory setting across the pub, there was about three or four of us.
“We were just determined and got them all on, and got it done ready to go up.”
After the display net was made, they then needed to figure out how to attach the poppies to the outer wall of the pub.
“We were trying to get a cherry picker to put it up outside of the building, it's quite high. I contacted Amanda Martin, our local MP, and asked if she could help us, and she very kindly put her team onto the thing and they got us the machine from Bravo Services, which helps for veterans. They provided a cherry picker for us.
“We put it up yesterday morning. It looks very good. At the end of the day, people have to remember it was a total team effort, and the whole community came together. It is a community pub, and they do a lot for veterans as well. This is my local, and I'm proud to be part of it.
“We’ve had a massive response. Even as we were putting it out yesterday morning, people were taking pictures. More people are starting to come and have a look at it and leaving nice comments on Facebook. We’re really pleased.”
Amanda Martin, MP for Portsmouth North, said on social media: “Last week, the brilliant team at the Mother Shipton got in touch with one of the more unusual requests I've had in this job ‘could you get us a cherry picker?!’ Of course, I was more than happy to help!
“My team reached out to a number of contacts and I am incredibly grateful to VIVO, who stepped up at short notice to lend a hand and help make this fantastic idea a reality.
“A huge shout-out to Andrea, Spencer and the whole team at the Mother Shipton for bringing the incredible wall of poppies to life. It looks absolutely spectacular and is a wonderful tribute ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
“It is a brilliant example of what can be achieved when local people, businesses and organisations come together. I hope as many people as possible get the chance to pop down, see it for themselves and take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made by our Armed Forces community. A massive thank you to everyone involved and bog thanks to VIVO, it is something our whole community can be proud of.”
The display will remain on the Mother Shipton until the end of next week. Once brought down, it will be dried out and stored, ready to be displayed next year.