CM Downton delivered the last consignment of poppies to the Tower of London this week, ahead of the completion of the ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ display that has enthralled the capital and the nation.
Downton has been delivering the ceramic poppies to the London landmark since 1 August on behalf of Johnson Tiles – the UK’s leading producer of ceramic tiles, and the manufacturer of the now-iconic poppy heads.
Downton vehicles have been collecting between three and four full loads of poppies from Johnson Tiles’ flagship plant in Stoke-on-Trent each week, before taking them to Derby where they are sprayed and glazed at the pottery run by Paul Cummins – the artist behind the display.
From there, the poppies are delivered to the Tower of London where they are mounted on metal stems; to be planted by one of the 16,000 volunteers who have been working on the display.
Wednesday saw the last of the 888,246 poppies – each representing a British or Commonwealth soldier killed in the first World War – arriving at the site. The last is set to be planted on Armistice Day, 11 November.
Kate Downton, director, CM Downton said “This display has captured the imagination of everyone in the country and is a truly remarkable and fitting tribute to the heroes whose lives were tragically lost in the Great War. To have played even a small part in it makes all of us at Downton very proud.”