In 2018, Truro Wool had an idea to commemorate the centenary of the end of WW1 by creating the Bridge of Remembrance. Thanks to hundreds of members of the wonderful knitting and crochet community, together with some amazing volunteers, the idea became a reality and a display of over 15,000 hand knitted and crochet poppies was installed on River Walk footbridge in Truro for all to see. The finished display was so moving that it has been installed for Remembrance week every year since.
Though many of the poppies were made in Cornwall and the wider UK, volunteers from as far as South Africa, Canada, Europe and the USA sent hand-made poppies to be part of the moving tribute.
More poppies needed for 2022…
Support for the Bridge of Remembrance continues to be strong and Remembrance 2022 will be its fifth installation. Though the majority of the poppies on the panels have survived the inevitable rain, wind and cold temperatures they have experienced over the past four years, some of them are looking a little sorry for themselves and need to be removed and replaced with fresh poppies.
We’re once again asking the knitting and crochet community to help us by making new poppies that we can use to rejuvenate the poppy panels.
How you can help…
There are a couple of ways that you can get involved with this community project.
MAKING POPPIES
To ensure the Bridge of Remembrance continues to look its best for 2022 and beyond, we must replace any damaged poppies with new poppies. We’re asking you to get your needles and hooks out and please make and send us some new poppies.
Any red yarn can be used for the poppies, and the black centres can either be made from black yarn or a black button. A few replacement purple poppies would also be great to refresh the panel remembering WW1 animals, however the replacement need is far greater for the red poppies.
View and download free patterns for both knitted and crochet poppies via the pink link text below.
CLICK HERE FOR POPPY PATTERNS
Once you have made your poppies, you can drop them into the shop during opening hours (Mon-Sat 09:30-16:30) or pop them in the post addressed to:
Truro Wool
(Bridge of Remembrance)
St Mary’s Street
Truro TR1 2AF
All poppy donations must be received no later than FRIDAY 23RD SEPTEMBER 2022 (earlier would be appreciated).
Thank you!
JOIN US ON MONDAY 17TH OCTOBER 2022
From 10:30am – 4pm on Monday 17th October 2022, we’ll be transforming The Moresk Centre, Truro, into a hive of poppy-shaped activity as we undertake the task of replacing any damaged poppies on the panels with shiny new ones. We would be grateful of help from anyone willing to volunteer some time on this day to help us refresh the panels.
If you’d like to get involved and have an hour or two (or three) to spare, please do come along and join us, we’d love to see you. Tea and coffee will be provided.
The Moresk Centre, Kemp Close, Truro TR1 1EF (Click here for map and directions).
Thank you!
One thing is for sure. The Bridge of Remembrance simply would not exist without your willingness to get involved, whether that’s making a single poppy or even telling ‘your friend that knits (or crochets)’ about the project. As we’ve seen from its previous installations, the Bridge of Remembrance is a striking and moving way to remember those lost in WW1 and we just can’t say a big enough THANK YOU to everyone that contributes to this valued community effort. Thank you.