Church is ‘yarn bombed’ with thousands of handcrafted poppies

Villagers awoke on Sunday to find a church had been ‘yarn bombed’ with thousands of handcrafted poppies in the run up to Remembrance Day.

Working under the cover of darkness on Saturday night, four residents set up the display of more than 5,000 woollen poppies which are cascading from the bell tower and over the walls of St Mary’s Church, in Walsham-le-Willows.

More than 75 women and two men knitted and crocheted the poppies in an 11-month project to mark Armistice Day and raise money for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.

Jan Hall led the initiative with the village’s Royal British Legion representative Fiona Glover and they were among the group who tied the poppies on to netting and hung them from the church tower.

Jan said: “I never imagined that so many people would get involved and it really has brought everyone together over the last year.”

She thanked the vicar Philip Merry and the church council.

There are also 40 poppies on two crosses, made by Fred Bloomfield, to commemorate the 40 men from Walsham who died in the First and Second World Wars.

Walsham Drama Group will present ‘A Celebration of Letters’ with readings of letters written in times of conflict by leaders, soldiers and their families on Saturday, November 11 at 7.30pm.

Admission is £5 on the door in aid of the Poppy Appeal.