Poppies

Less than two weeks until November the 11th and the culmination of the Poppy project, before the tide turns and we start taking them all out to send on to those who have bought them for charity. I don’t yet know how much we have raised, we have to pay for all the installation, manufacture, deinstall and transport costs but it is certainly more than £1M for each of the six charities. We are hoping that a final sale of the two most iconic pieces the Wave and Weeping Window will bring in even more and create a lasting legacy of the installation that can been seen around the country for years to come. It has been humbling and overwhelming to see all the comments on social media , the vast crowds coming to look and reflect, the work of thousands of volunteers and Paul’s team up in the Midlands making the ceramic flowers , so much work but such an impact on the nation.Just amazing !

The wave from blood swept Lands and seas of Red. Poppies created by Paul Cummins ,wave design By Tom Piper

The wave from blood swept Lands and seas of Red. Poppies created by Paul Cummins ,wave design By Tom Piper

Comments

  1. Lesley & Steve says

    Visited yesterday, Nov.1st. A staggering achievement. Very humbling. Amazing atmosphere among the crowds. So glad we didn’t miss it!! Well done Tom Piper & everyone involved with the spectacle!

  2. Cynthia Robinson says

    Thank you for what you have conceived and produced for this year. Not just the blanket of blood at the Tower but the individual nature of each of the’ units’ in it. Each unit uniquely important in its own right. And now, the final phase of the installation, the removal (with love) of each defending heart, the careful washing of each one and then the boxing up and sending off to each individual home. Will that be the end, or will the memories live on and be re-created in the future? Truly this is art that takes us into new realms of feeling and appreciation of what happened. Little old ladies like me, living close to the coast in Norfolk, would very much like more creative work that reaches further into the soul. thank you.

  3. Summer Rogerson says

    My mum would do dearly love one of these poppies. I understand they are currently sold out but are there any other options as to how to obtain one of these beauties? Please let me know! Thanks so much.

  4. I have been a volunteer three times, once to deinstall and twice to install. Each time I was very aware of the individuality of each poppy, as individual as each life they represented, all bought together in one place, as those soldiers were, for one cause. 888,246 is a large number but until you see all the poppies together, thats all – it is a large number. Once you see the amount of poppies the reality of the amount of lives lost does it hit you – once you walk among the poppies its impossible to forget. I feel honoured to have played a very small part in this installation.

  5. Amanda Jenkins says

    Tom – Thank You Thank You Thank You!… for such a mesmerising, stunning, inspiring, breath-taking, awe-inspiring, inspirational ( there are not enough adjectives! ) display that you and Paul created! You will never know just how much the installation meant to me. It is a sight that I will remember and treasure always. Three of my relatives were read out on three different nights as part of The Roll of Honour. What a wonderful and encompassing idea THAT was…! I attached their photos to the railings opposite where their names were read out. Three of those poppies, after all were for them and I thought it would be nice for other people to see thehuman faces attached to this iconic display. ( I think they were the first photos put up bu when I returned there were alot more ! )
    Each time I visited ( 19th Sep, 24th & 25th Oct and 11th Nov – the last evening ) the impact of it all never failed to take my breath away. You said so much more , and got more people thinking and remembering those fallen heroes, without words, in just three months than anyone else could in years of history lessons and book writing….
    At the heart of it all, a simple idea … a flower for a soldier…but, oh! WHAT an idea!!
    If you and Paul don’t get some sort of formal recognition for giving this country this beutiful tribute then That would be crime! But whatever happens, you are a hero in my eyes. Thank you for letting my fallen relatives live again, thankyou for the poppy I have bought to remember it all by, thanks to your army of volunteers ( or angels on Earth as I like to call them ) , to the Roll of Honour readers and buglers, to all at The Tower and all on the website who have sent such kind, thankful and informative e-mails every step of the way.
    This will stay with me always and you are a hero in my eyes – with love and much respect – Amanda x

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