An Aberdeenshire community’s popular Remembrance Day display has returned better than ever.
More than 17,189 knitted poppies were used in the making of the jaw-dropping tribute at Macduff Parish Church.
The red flowers have been handed in from all over the world, including Australia, America and Belgium.
And this year, co-ordinator Claire Nicholson, 48, is hoping that the display can grow even bigger in the future.
Initially beginning in 2018 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War, the project has grown something of arms and legs and now passers-by ask her for photos.
‘I just wanted to do something’
She said: “I started by knitting 20 poppies for a group that I ran – I thought that it would take me the full year.
“But after a meeting with local groups at the church we decided that we wanted to do something really special for 100 years since the First World War.
“They initially wanted us to knit for another town, but I was already started on my poppies, I wanted to knit for Macduff.
Claire cannot believe the support from across the world. Image: Jason Hedges.”I spoke to the Lord Lieutenant of Banffshire shortly and said I don’t know what we are going to be doing but I can take the lead. I wanted to do something.”
“I then just put on the Facebook page that we were going to be knitting!
“It just evolved from there, the community and the school got involved and now we’re here.”
Now the Macduff poppy display is the biggest that it has ever been.
Sporting over 17,189 of the knitted red flowers, Claire would never have been able to produce that many herself.
For that, she has relied on the help of volunteers all of over the world – which she is always grateful for.
She added: “We have had another 3,500 added to the display this year from volunteers.
Help always appreciated in Macduff
“The first year that we took this on, I knitted almost 1,000 poppies myself.
“And last year I added another 1,200.
“I was still knitting at quarter to seven, when we were supposed to be putting them out with the coastguard at seven.
“We always need help.
“We have people from all over the world knitting for us now. a 90 year old woman from Belgium sent us poppies. We’ve also had them from Canada, Australia and America.
“I’m speechless about the support that we have received from all over.”
What started as a small project to honour the 100th year since the Great War, has now turned into something of a global phenomenon.
But that’s not all down to Claire, it was the work of others that turned it into a social media sensation.
She added: “I’ve got my friend Helen who helps – She is always out there interacting with people and telling everyone about the display, whereas I’m shying away.
‘We feel like celebrities’
“If people are getting enjoyment from it and enjoying what we are putting out then that’s all the recognition we need.”
“Not a lot happens in Macduff, let’s be honest.
“People have come from far and wide, when we were laying them out on the first night.
“We feel like celebrities sometimes. But we think it has brought the town together.”
