Poppies at the Tower of London

If you live in London, or have travelled there recently, you probably visited the Tower of London to see the poppies. But for those who couldn’t make it, I wanted to share photos from last week, when I saw it for myself.

888, 426 individual ceramic poppies were placed around the Tower of London, one for each British military casualty in the First World War. While it is visually stunning, I was completely overwhelmed by the tragedy it represents. My great-grandfather fought in WWI as part of the Scottish sector of the Canadian army; he lost a leg in the war due to a shrapnel after an explosion in France. It could have been much worse, of course.

The installation of poppies at the Tower of London has raised millions of pounds for charity (people can buy them for £25 to help raise money and awareness), and it has been confirmed that part of the exhibition will remain there until the end of November. After that, some of the installation will travel through the UK.

The installation was hauntingly beautiful… but lest we forget what it represents. Let’s take a moment to remember, not just on Remembrance Day, but every day.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
      Between the crosses, row on row,
   That mark our place; and in the sky
   The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
   Loved and were loved, and now we lie
         In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
   The torch; be yours to hold it high.
   If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
         In Flanders fields.

–John McCrae