 |
|
Thousands of volunteers will remove
the Tower poppies over the course of the next two weeks
|
Work
will start today in the UK to pick the poppies which captured the imagination
of Britain as it commemorated the centenary of the First World War.
The
Press Association reports that more than five million people have travelled to
the Tower of London to see Blood Swept
Lands and Seas of Red since the first ceramic flower was placed in the moat
in July.
Thousands
gathered at the landmark yesterday to see the last of the 888,246 poppies -
representing every British and Commonwealth death in the Great War - put in
place.
But
like the lives they represent, they will be plucked, with thousands of
volunteers removing them over the course of the next two weeks, according to
Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), which commissioned the installation.
They
have been sold off for £25 each to raise millions for six charities, the
Confederation of Service Charities, Combat Stress, Coming Home, Help for
Heroes, Royal British Legion and SSAFA (formerly the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen
and Families Association).
Each
is expected to receive more than £1.2 million, HRP said.
Parts
of the installation will go on show after a public campaign to keep them on
display for longer.
 |
|
After Armistice Day, the Tower
poppies were to have been removed by 8,000 volunteers
|
The
Weeping Willow, a cascade of poppies which spills from a window of the castle,
and the Wave, which swirls out of the moat to form an arch over the entrance to
the Tower, are to go on tour around the country until 2018, when they will be
gifted to the Imperial War Museums in London and Manchester.
Wave will remain in place at the Tower until the
end of November, according to HRP.
No comments:
Post a Comment