THE Westbury Family History Group is asking for help to knit or crochet poppies for next year’s Remembrance event, which will mark 100 years since the end of World War 1.
Following the success of this year’s ‘yarn-bombing’ of the War Memorial, which attracted much praise from the community, the group will be working with Emma Symonds from EJ Crafts in Maristow Street to create a knitted poppy display for All Saints Church.
“It will run alongside the exhibition at the church which will mark the end of the project that the Westbury Family History Group have been working on for the past four years, to find the men of Westbury who went to war,” said Lynne Vercoe of the Family History Group,
“To date we have found the names of approximately 400 men who were either born in Westbury or were living here and went to serve their country in the Great War and returned home. We also have the names of over 200 men who did not return.
“’Westbury’ includes the villages of Westbury Leigh and Dilton Marsh. The exhibition aims to look at the families, homes and work that they left behind and what happened to the returning men after the war.
“We want to build on the wonderful display that was created this year, by Emma and her helpers, at the War Memorial and extend it to All Saints Church, both inside and out. So we are asking if anyone who can knit or crochet to help us achieve a magnificent display in 2018 that will pay tribute to all these men.
“Emma has kindly offered to be a drop-off point for completed poppies and we hope to have more drop-off points in the near future.”
