Shropshire Star

Thousands of poppies draped over Telford's landmark Anstice building for Remembrance Sunday

Thousands of knitted and crocheted poppies have been draped from the roof of Telford's landmark Anstice building to mark Remembrance Sunday.

Published
The Anstice

The Anstice in Madeley - set to reopen in the spring after a year-long refurbishment - is draped with a sweeping cascade of poppies to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.

More than 12,100 poppies have been knitted or crocheted by Anstice volunteers, the Madeley community and friends abroad in Canada and Australia.

Paveaways, contractor for the redevelopment, put down their tools to help with the installation.

Volunteers from The Anstice along with Paveaways and the British Legion

Dot Holden, trustee at the Anstice said: "I want to say a huge thank you to our volunteers who have worked tirelessly for months to create the installation.

"We meet every Wednesday and Saturday morning at Madeley Library to work on the project, and are so pleased to finally see the poppies on the building. I’d also like to thank Allsorts Wool and Craft Shop for providing the knitting patterns and collecting poppies on our behalf."

The British Legion will parade through Madeley on Remembrance Sunday, arriving at the Cenotaph near Russell Square for the wreath laying service at 10.45am. For Armistice Day on Monday 11th November, the Mayor, Madeley Town Council, Paveaways, The Anstice team and the Madeley community will meet outside The Anstice at 11am to observe together the two minutes silence.

The installation which will stay up until Wednesday.

The Anstice will reopen as a community hub next year, complete with a new café, library, meeting space and the beautiful sprung-floor ballroom.

With a full programme of activities and events including a youth club, dance classes and comedy nights, those working on the project said The Anstice will once again be the heart of the Madeley community.