Veterans, their families and staff at Sight Scotland Veterans' Hawkhead Centre in Paisley have come together to create 800 handmade poppies from recycled plastic bottles. The poppies will be laid on Remembrance Day around the centre's memorial, creating a sea of red and purple poppies in tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Around 50 Poppies will also be donated to be placed at the Commonwealth Graves at the local Hawkhead Cemetery.
What began as a simple idea to create just 50 poppies quickly grew into a major community effort, with veterans spending months collecting empty water and juice bottles that would later be transformed into the Remembrance display. Alongside the traditional red poppies, the display also features purple poppies, which honour the animals that served and died during conflict.
Annmarie Duffy, Activity Worker at Sight Scotland Veterans' Hawkhead Centre who led the project, said: "We know how much Remembrance means to our veterans. For many, it's a chance to remember friends, family members and comrades they have lost, and to reflect on experiences that have stayed with them throughout their lives.
“We want to make sure our veterans can continue to be part of these important moments of remembrance. Living with visual impairment doesn't lessen the importance of remembering the people who we have lost. Projects like this bring people together and give everyone a chance to contribute to something special. Seeing veterans, families and staff working side by side to create these poppies has been incredibly moving.
"Over several weeks, we collected empty water and juice bottles to make the poppies. Initially, we thought we would create around 50 to brighten the garden, but as the project grew, so did our ambition. The finished display has already exceeded our expectations and we are looking forward to seeing it come together on Remembrance Day, when the poppies will be laid to create a sea of red and purple around the memorial. We hope it will be a fitting tribute to all those who gave so much in service.”
"For me, Remembrance is about gratitude. There was a lot of suffering. It affected most families. It affected my family. We were in the bomb shelter when a bomb blew up my bedroom window. Sometimes we didn't go into the shelter, but if I hadn't gone in that night, I wouldn’t be here.”
Rosemary Bird, who lives in Elderslie in Renfrewshire, who has Macular Degeneration, who served as a telephonist and Steward in the WRAF comments:
"I owe a lot to Sight Scotland Veterans. The charity has helped me through some difficult times and given me friendship, support and a place where I feel I belong. Sight Scotland Veterans is my family and just looking at how many poppies we have all made together shows just how big a family I am part of.
"For me, Remembrance is about gratitude. There was a lot of suffering. It affected most families. It affected my family. We were in the bomb shelter when a bomb blew up my bedroom window. Sometimes we didn't go into the shelter, but if I hadn't gone in that night, I wouldn’t be here.”
Hazel McKinna who lives in Kilmarnock and who has Macular Degeneration, who served as a photographer in the RAF, adds: "I was born in 1935, so I remember the war. I lost cousins and uncles in the war, so Remembrance means a lot to me.
"This is why making these poppies has meant so much to me. It means a lot to all of us here at Hawkhead. We know what people had to give up and sacrifice so that we could be here today. When the poppies are laid around the memorial on Remembrance Day, I think they will be a fitting tribute. I'm grateful to all the staff, veterans, friends and family members who helped make it happen.”
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