Approximately 1,500 poppies, crafted by volunteers, adorn the facade and entrance at the Bradley Centre in Coombs to honour the veterans this Remembrance Day.
Erin Holmes, a member of Oceanside Fibre Connections, one of the groups working at the Bradley Centre, was the driving force behind the poppy display.
“I saw poppy installations in a number of cities across Canada and actually in the UK as well,” said Holmes. “They were big installations with poppies. I thought it’s time for us to do one here. We’ve been working on it since spring.”
All the poppies on display that surround the phrase ‘Lest We Forget’ were created by more than a dozen volunteers from all over District 69. Holmes said they were either knitted, crocheted and sewn together.
“Every poppy is slightly different and we thought that was appropriate because it kind of represented the individual veterans,” said Holmes. “So each poppy represents one individual person.”
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Holmes the display has between 1,200 to 1,500 poppies. They cover the gable above the entrance way as well as the two pillars on the side between the stairs leading to the doorway. There’s a mesh net on the side where all the other poppies are hanging and flowing down like a waterfall.
“It’s a lot of poppies and they are now in front of the building for everyone to see,” said Holmes. “It’s our way of honouring the many veterans. It suits who the members of the Bradley Centre are, which is very much a volunteer-driven community centre. And we have so many veterans and family members here who have vets in their history. So it’s appropriate to do it at the Bradley.”
Holmes said before they created the poppy display, they sought guidance from the Royal Canadian Legion on what they could and could not do.
“That was all very, very helpful,” said Holmes.