By Elizabeth Ann Smith

Members of St Stephen’s Church in Worcester are knitting and crocheting poppies to mark the upcoming centenary of the end of the First World War, on November 11.

One poppy is being made for each of the 86 soldiers from the parish of Barbourne St Stephen killed in the war.

With poppies coming in thick and fast,there are now plans for a weeping window to accompany the memorial wreath poppies at the church in Droitwich Road.

Parishioners Barbara Everett and Kirstie Anwyl-Hughes came up with the St Stephen’s Remembrance Knitting Project to mark this centenary.

Barbara said: “In 2015 four of our congregation visited Ypres to find the graves of the soldiers from the parish of Barbourne St Stephen.  It quickly became clear that all sorts of young men from all sorts of backgrounds lost their lives fighting for us so we wanted to reflect this in our Armistice remembrance.”

She added: “We are asking our congregation to knit and crochet poppies and to donate yarn, to give any spare black buttons or black thread, and to create simple or intricate poppies. This way we will respect and remember the soldiers’ diverse backgrounds as we honour their individual sacrifices.

“So far the response has been amazing, but there’s room for more."

Church warden, Geoff Hill, who visited Ypres was so moved by what he found there that he has created a St Stephen’s Book of Remembrance, pulling together information and pictures on the lives of every soldier from the parish who died in the Great War.  It is kept inside the church for parishioners and members of the public to read.

Geoff said: “At each remembrance we always see Rudyard Kipling’s poignant words ‘their name liveth for evermore’; but after visiting the war cemeteries we all felt that it’s the life behind the name that is more relevant.”

The parish of Barbourne St Stephen has a special link to World War I.  Its boundaries contain Gheluvelt park. The whole park, including bungalows for old soldiers, commemorates a famous victory involving the Second Battalion The Worcestershire Regiment.  On October 31 1914, against the odds, the soldiers retook the small village of Gheluvelt, outside the city of Ypres in Belgium.  Field Marshal Sir John French, who was commanding the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) at the time, said that ‘on that day, the 2nd Worcesters saved the British Empire’.

Anyone who wants to knit, crochet  or donate yarn and buttons for the poppies project can find details at st-stephens-church-worcester.org.uk. Poppies can be brought to the church on Saturday mornings until November 4 inclusive.