To mark the centenary of the armistice, The Royal British Legion wanted to say Thank You to the First World War artists, innovators, women, children and Commonwealth soldiers whose unique contribution helped shape our world.
On the morning of the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal launch, we unveiled a giant poppy installation at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich – Daylight Savings being an innovation of the War.
Symbolic red threads ran out in all directions, cementing the link with diverse quotes from Wilfred Owen to a soldier serving in the Indian Cavalry, pointing in the direction of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton. “Don’t be grieved at my death” he wrote to his family from the wartime hospital.
The First World War left its mark on everyone, and our film told these stories as they run through the fabric of the nation, woven into communities up and down the country. We featured 14 modern monuments, from a Welsh coal mine to Birmingham Library to Preston FC, to bring a whole generation’s legacy home to everyone who wears a poppy today.
The launch was picked up by the BBC, ITV and all the national and local press. Then Downing Street called to request a poppy thread to be placed outside their door.