A striking memorial of crochet poppies has been unveiled in Yate to remember the region’s fallen heroes and commemorate the contribution of British military and civilian servicemen and women involved in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
Ahead of Remembrance Sunday, a local Community Group, with the help of housebuilders and partners, has revealed the poignant installation at one of its flagship developments in Yate, while a Remembrance Trail throughout Ladden Garden Village serves to honour the service and sacrifice of those who lost their lives fighting for their country.
For more than six months, the Ladden Garden Village Community Group and members of the public have spent more than 120 hours producing almost 1,000 crochet poppies which will be on display for the whole of November at the entrance to the LiveWest, David Wilson Homes’ and Barratt Homes’ development on Leechpool Way.
We have provided the Community Group with funding for a number of initiatives at the development. For this project it supplied the tools of crochet hooks and wool people needed for the installation.
Marie Burke, our Community Connector, said: “The whole Community Group has had a role to play in the planning for this year’s Remembrance Day event - some have made poppies whilst others attended meetings and are the backbone to organising the event which has been exciting for LiveWest to be part of.
"We’re proud of our community’s effort in making this a success honouring those who served us and I hope residents at the development, plus those from the wider community, will join to honour and celebrate the ultimate sacrifice of Yate’s service personnel.”
Streets at Ladden Garden Village are named after soldiers from South Gloucestershire who died in the first World War. Over the past two years, the Community Group has produced information about each of the heroes which they posted to residents to help them learn more about the person their street was named after. This year, details about the region’s fallen soldiers will be displayed proudly throughout the development during November to mark the armistice agreement that ended the First World War.
Hywel Snook, associate vicar at Yate Parish and member of the Ladden Garden Village Community Group will lead a walkabout at 2.30pm on Remembrance Day, Sunday 13 November, to quietly remember and pay his respects to the armed forces, veterans and their families.
Residents and members of the community are invited to meet outside the David Wilson Homes sales centre if they’d like to attend the walkover.
Esther Pickup-Keller, one of the members of the Community Group, was instrumental in designing the poppy installation. She said: “I proposed the initiative in February and started crocheting the poppies immediately. However, when I realised the scale of the task, the Group ran two sessions over the summer for people who wanted to learn how to do it and there’s been a team of ten of us busily crocheting since then.
"It’s been wonderful to see our vision come to life and I hope residents at the development, along with the wider community, will consider this a most fitting tribute to those who are no longer with us.”
Louise Ware, sales director for Barratt David Wilson Homes South West, said: “Our thanks go to everyone at the Community Group and LiveWest for the work they’ve put into this year’s Remembrance Day event which will bring neighbours together to remember those who sacrificed so much.”
Andrea Pilgrim, sales director for Barratt Bristol, added: “We must never forget those who lost their lives and the poppy installation will be somewhere the community can gather to pay their respects.”