Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

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The red areas in the moat of the Tower of London is the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red
Volunteers “plant” the ceramic poppies at the Tower of London

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red is an installation in London. It was created in 2014 in memory of the victims of the First World War 100 years earlier. The name of the project comes from a poem by an unknown British soldier.

planning

It is estimated that 888,246 United Kingdom and Commonwealth soldiers died on the high seas and on the battlefields of World War I. Each individual fate is to be symbolized by an artificial red poppy ( Remembrance Poppy ) . They are made of ceramic and were made in a factory in Derbyshire. The poppies could be purchased for £ 25 each, with the proceeds going to benefit veteran organizations such as the Royal British Legion . Construction of the installation began in August 2014. Thousands of volunteers set up the flowers around the Tower of London . The final poppies were added by British Prime Minister David Cameron on the eve of Remembrance Day . From the beginning of the campaign, the plan was to dismantle the installation after November 11, 2014 by November 28, 2014. The flowers were then sent to the donors, who each raised 25 pounds.

Part of the installation, the Weeping Window , in which several thousand poppy blossoms seem to pour down from a window, was rebuilt a year later for Remembrance Day 2015 at St. George's Hall in Liverpool .

reception

The memorial campaign was received very positively by the general public. More than 4 million visitors flocked to the tower to view the poppies. In the meantime, a signature campaign was launched to postpone the end of the installation. Both the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson , and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg support this cause . The work is not without controversy, however, a culture columnist for the Guardian commented critically as “fake, trite and inward-looking” (“fake, banal and self- centered ”) and moved the action close to UKIP patriotism.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The poppies at the Tower of London. BBC News, November 7, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  2. ^ Cameron plants last two poppies at Tower of London. Guardian, November 9, 2014, accessed November 9, 2014 .
  3. ^ Poppies: Wave and Weeping Window at www.cultureliverpool.co.uk
  4. ↑ Tower of London poppies to be removed as planned on November 12th. Guardian, November 6, 2014, accessed November 11, 2014 .
  5. ^ The Tower of London poppies are fake, trite and inward-looking - a Ukip-style memorial. Guardian, October 28, 2014, accessed November 10, 2014 .

Web links

Commons : Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red  - collection of images, videos and audio files