Barking Town Hall received more than 5,000 handmade poppies from community members for its 2026 display - a tally which brought tears to the eye of a crocheter who contributed to it.
The day before the display was installed, Lisa Barclay visited the town hall to see its progress.
The retiree was visibly emotional when shown the almost-assembled 18 metre “waterfall” of poppies laid across several wooden tables.
The display is the culmination of several months of Barking and Dagenham Council’s appeal for poppies inspired by the idea 'Every Poppy Tells a Story'.
Lisa's involvement in this year’s display began after the council reached out to her asking if she could teach poppy crochet sessions to community members.
She hosted monthly sessions at the Pipe Major pub in Dagenham to teach groups how to crochet.
She also worked with the pub’s manager to make the boozer a poppy drop-off site for individuals, schools and charities in the area.
Lisa said she visited the pub on the final day of the drop-off.
“When I got over there, we counted over 900 poppies. Everywhere; on the floor, in the pub, everywhere, literally everywhere.
"But it wasn't just that, it was little letters saying 'oh, this school made these'. And I was literally, I was in bits."
Even after the last day for drop-off at the Pipe Major, people still continued reaching out to Lisa to see if they could bring more poppies.
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Students in primary schools, crafters with disabilities, and long-time knitters were among the several Barking community members who created unique poppies.
Melanie Simpson, the borough’s events, engagement and civic support officer, said: “I think what was really cool … is that everyone was given the same brief, but every poppy is unique."
The poppies varied in size, shape, colour and material. Community members unable to knit or crochet found creative methods to contribute.
Melanie added: “We have a group called the Independent Living Agency who worked on this. They support disabled people, and not all of those people have the dexterity to knit or to crochet. So they've made poppies out of melted down CDs.
“We approached primary schools and infant schools... they made things out of felt, because it would be difficult to teach them how to knit or crochet. So there's little plastic ones as well and big felt ones."
Melanie was among several of the council’s staffers in charge of assembling the display.
Each of the 5,000 poppies were arranged and then zip tied down one-by-one over the course of several long days of work.
The community effort will be recognised officially on November 11 during the council’s “official unveiling” of the display, after the Remembrance service at the Job Drain Memorial.
The display will remain in place at the town hall until November 17.
Barking and Dagenham mayor Manzoor Hussain said: "People of all ages in Barking and Dagenham have taken the time to create at least one of the thousands of unique poppies that make up the display – giving them a chance to think and reflect on the sacrifices of those we remember."
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