VOLUNTEERS in St Briavels have pulled together to create a display of more than 1,000 knitted poppies to honour those who have died in the line of duty.

Since January, members of St Briavels WI have been knitting and crocheting an array of poppies with the aim of creating a lasting memorial ahead of this year’s Remembrance Day commemorations.

Using mainly donated wool, the 34 members have crafted hundreds of red poppies but also some in white and purple, to represent civilian and animal losses.

As word of the project spread, many other villagers and friends and family members - some from as far afield as Cornwall and Australia - contributed poppies “of all shapes and sizes” to the total amount.

Wooden panels were donated to create a backing for the display, which was hung in place on the memorial gates of the village’s playing fields in East Street by WI members and friends last Tuesday, November 1.

WI Secretary Gay Jones says the group were inundated with contributions, and received so many that they were left with a surplus of poppies after they put the display together.

The leftover poppies have now been made into hanging swags by one of the members, which will be used to decorate the gates of the St Briavels Almshouses.

Gay added the WI were “very pleased” to have received a contribution from St Briavels Parish Council for the project, which was used to purchase cable ties to fasten the poppies along with a storage box.

The display will now form a focus for the village’s Remembrance event, which will take place this Sunday, November 13.