A BOROUGH village war memorial has been garlanded with more than 6,000 poppies.
Made by a group of Arborfield women, a stunning red display of crocheted artwork has transformed Aborfield Cross War Memorial into a sea of poppies.
Sheila Jones, who organised the project, said: “We’re over the moon, and delighted with the result, which has exceeded our expectations.”
Sheila and another 15 crafters have worked hard since February, making the poppies and then forming them into ribbons.
“It’s been a nine month pregnancy,” laughed Sheila.
“Originally the idea was to have a number of poppy ribbons attached to the memorial cross.
“But when we put up just a couple of these to mark D-Day in June, we realised that they are really heavy, especially if they get wet in the rain.
“Too many ribbons attached to the cross risked toppling it for this display, so we decided instead to drape just two strings, with the remainder of the poppies decorating the cross itself and posts at the base.”
The stunning effect is that of a red cross emerging from a sea of poppies.
“It has been a wonderful coming together of the community to make this happen,” said Sheila.
“After I put out a request for help, it wasn’t long before plenty of people responded.
“They are passionate about what we’re doing, and we’ve started to share other projects with each other in a friendly WhatsApp group.
“I feel quite emotional about the way the project has come together, and we all hope people in the borough will enjoy the artwork.
“Our aim is to encourage people to remember the fallen.”
Sheila thanks Martin from Arborfield Tree Care (who climbed the ladder to attach the ribbons) and Gaynor White and the Barkham Hookers, without whom she says the project would not have been possible.
