Poppy tribute planted at ‘Tower of Rochdale’

Pupils from Smithy Bridge Primary School create Rochdale’s own version of The Tower of London’s striking World War One tribute by planting 420 ceramic poppies in the Rochdale Memorial Gardens

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Local school children have helped create Rochdale’s own version of The Tower of London’s striking World War One tribute by planting 420 ceramic poppies in the Rochdale Memorial Gardens

Pupils from Smithy Bridge Primary School created the tribute after taking inspiration from the stunning display at the Tower of London last year.

The poppies originally formed part of the school’s Remembrance Day service to commemorate the World War One centenary and were planted by a trench specially dug within the school grounds.

The pupils were so proud of the poppies they’d made that they wanted the memorial to continue, so decided to donate the poppies to Rochdale Borough Council, who joined the school’s ‘One Group’ to help plant them in the Memorial Gardens this week.

The pupils braved snow, ice and freezing temperatures to join the Mayor, Councillor Carol Wardle, Council Leader Richard Farnell and Wing Commander David Forbes from the Royal British Legion to plant the poppies.

Councillor Carol Wardle, Mayor of Rochdale, said: “It was pleasure to spend the morning planting the poppies with these children, who were great representatives for both the school and the borough.

“Their handmade poppies look so beautiful stood proudly next to the cenotaph and I was really pleased that we were able to arrange this display with them. Once this display is over, we’ll be keeping them in storage to be used at events such as Armed Forces Day.”

The poppies will be on display until the end of the month before being removed. It is hoped that the school will be able to create more poppies for each Remembrance Day and grow the display to an even more poignant tribute.