While on many levels putting a number on our poppies that relates to WWI is an attractive concept because of the looming Anzac Centenary ... the 5000 Poppies project is a tribute to ALL of our service men and women, their families and those affected by war ... Marg and I have never wanted to make this tribute just about WWI ... and in fact, the project started as a very small 120 poppy tribute to our fathers who both fought in WWII (mine in New Guinea, and Margs in Europe). So even though the display date corresponds with the Centenary Commemoration ... and it has taken on a life of its own in many areas, it is important to remind ourselves that while the ANZAC Spirit may have been born at Gallipoli, that spirit continues to run through the veins of our military today, and over the last 100 years , there have been more than 100,000 deaths, many many more wounded and many many more affected ... over all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. So while many of our contributors are dedicating their handwork to their ANZAC ancestors which is fantastic ... your individual motivation for getting involved in the project is a very personal thing. And in reality the number of poppies is incidental to the sentiment behind our rather mammoth undertaking. Congratulations to you all for a job incredibly well done ... lets keep going and see where this takes us. But know that in the end ... this is a COMMUNITY tribute of RESPECT AND REMEMBRANCE ... and it WILL be amazing. You can read more about the background to the 5000 Poppies Project here 5000poppies.wordpress/about/
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 09:55:00 +0000