by John Prince
Some amazing creations have gone up this year in Hornsea ahead of the town’s Remembrance commemorations next month.
Volunteers from Hornsea Community Craft Group, Hornsea and District Royal British Legion and Hornsea Poppy Appeal have been dressing the route of the annual parade which takes place on Sunday, November 8.
At St Nicholas Church, where the Remembrance parade starts, thousands of crocheted poppies have been mounted on to panels and secured to the church gates.
Andrea Jones and Clare Tate were out in the rain putting them up on Monday morning.
Andrea said: “We’ve had some lovely comments while we’ve been putting them up.
“It is to remember all these soldiers who lost their lives in war, not just in the First and Second World Wars, but in more recent times in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Falklands.
“I would like people to think about what sacrifice our soldiers have made, and what freedoms they’ve given us. The ones we’ve lost.”
Clare said: “It’s the whole group who have done these. We’ve been passing them around to each other to do different things.
“One lady’s taking them home and sewed them all on. I had another who sewed the panels for me at home. I’ve predominantly done all the poppies so that they’re all identical. It probably takes me about 20 minutes to make each poppy.
“They are outside the New Inn, on Eastgate, up in Ashcroft estate and there’s one out by Morrisons on Greenway.
“There’s one opposite Cooplands which has a Tommy’s head. That took quite a bit to do. It’s made with a mannequin’s head with a meat skewer and a children’s plate for the helmet.
“It’s all for the community and for civic pride. It’s lovely to see the town decorated and the number of people who come out to support the Royal British Legion and the Poppy Appeal.
“It’s so important to remember those who have fallen.”
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In Memorial Gardens, poppy rings have been laid on benches and wooden Tommies have been planted into the ground.
A wooden Lancaster bomber courtesy of Hornsea Men in Sheds has been hung from the bandstand, along with more than two dozen 2ft lamppost poppies which are new for this year. They have also been put up along the length of Newbegin.
Also new, and fastened to the garden’s metal railings, are 240 poppies designed by schoolchildren from Hornsea Burton and Hornsea Community primary schools.
Hannah Skinner from the RBL said: “We’ve got businesses and charities to sponsor the lamppost poppies with a suggested donation of £10. They’re going from the church and up Newbegin all the way to the Memorial Gardens from now until Remembrance Day.
“On the back of them there is a QR code where you can donate to Hornsea and District Poppy Appeal.
“Another branch has actually done something similar, and this is the first year we’ve done it. We literally thought we’d give it a go and see how it works and they’ve taken off.
“Hopefully, next year we can get even more people involved.
“We’re still taking in the donations, so we will have a figure by the end of November.”
Ben Aumônier who is retired from the Army and the Poppy Appeal organiser, said: “Getting the schools involved is really good, and that’s where something like the Poppy Appeal and the RBL branch overlap.
“Giving them a project to do means that they’ve thought about remembrance, and the cost of war, which is the whole purpose of the occasion.
“Some of the things we’ve seen, like the Tommies painted in previous years, we’ll keep rolling out because they look great. There are some kids who decorated those, like they did last year and the year before. There are new ideas every year.
“Within 24 hours of Hannah putting the idea up for the lamppost poppies, all of them had gone. We’re up to 25 now.
“There’s an aspect of remembrance that gets more important the further in the past major wars become. There are fewer and fewer people who have experienced that.
“If children and younger generations are involved, it makes them think.”
