Crafters have been busy making poppies for Mansfield District Council’s Poppy Parade project and now more than 4100 have been donated.

The deadline has now passed for the public to hand in their poppies but everyone is encouraged to help on the next part of the project by sponsoring a poppy to raise money for the Royal British Legion (RBL).

The public can visit events on Mansfield Market Place in October and attach a poppy for a donation of £1 to raise vital funds to support the Armed Forces community.

Dates and times when the public can get involved are:
•Sunday 1 October: Artisan and Craft Market, 11am to 3pm
•Wednesday 11 October: International Mini Market, 11am to 3pm
•Sunday 22 October: Car Show, 11am to 3pm
•Tuesday 24 – Saturday 28 October: half-term ghost hunt, 11am to 2pm.

Poppies will be attached to netting and messages of condolence can be added to a commemoration board as a way of marking respect for those who have fought for our country.

Once poppies are attached, they will be draped over the front of the Old Town Hall in the Market Place ready for the RBL’s Remembrance Day parade on Sunday 12 November.

The parade will start at Mansfield Civic Centre and head down Chesterfield Road and into town via West Gate and onto St Peter’s Church. After the service the parade will stop at the Old Town Hall for veterans to perform a salute of honour at the poppy display before it leads back to the Civic Centre.

Cllr Dave Saunders, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth, said: “We’ve had an overwhelming amount of support so far for the project so I can’t thank the community enough for their good will.

“We’re asking for the public’s support once again as we begin to attach the poppies and raise money for the Legion. We’re sure the community will pull together to help make this a successful project.”

Sophia Snell, Community Fundraising Manager for the region at Royal British Legion, said: “We are thrilled that more than 4100 poppies have been created for this project, they will help us raise much-needed funds for the Armed Forces community, past and present, in Mansfield. The woollen poppies are absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to see the finished display.”

Hundreds of bags of poppies were dropped off the Civic Centre over the past six months, many left anonymously.
The council and RBL thanked the anonymous donors and those who left their names, including:
Ann Creasey, Barbara Priest, Cindy Boot, Miss C. Griffins, Mrs Carole A. Berrill, Mrs D. Gowan, Mrs Doreen Hedison, Doreen Parkin, Flint Avenue Community Centre bingo group, Mrs G. Smith, Mrs Hunt, Janine Millichip, Mrs Jane Rhodes, Jean Noel, Mrs Joan Howson, Mrs June Vickers, Kate Bell, Kathy Chodley, Kay O’Hara, Margaret Bull, Margaret Day, Mrs Margaret Vallard, Sally Twinkles craft club, Ms Sheena Scott, 2nd Mansfield Scouts, Sharon Cargill, Shirebrook Methodist Church; St Lawrence’s Church, Mansfield; Sylvia Hopper, The Two Knits, Trinity Knitters; U3A craft group, Forest Town; Yankee Yarns crochet and knitting group, Yvonne Kennison.