Lines of '˜In Flanders Fields' appear across UK to mark Poppy Appeal

The poem lines, which have the individual letters made up of a cluster of poppies, can be viewed at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, on Dunkirk Beach, on the White Cliffs of Dover, at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, in Cardiff Bay, at Salford Quays in Manchester and outside the Sage in Newcastle.

The public can view the following lines in each respective area:

London, Royal Hospital Chelsea

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

Sage Gateshead

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Dover, White Cliffs

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Dunkirk Beach

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Cardiff, Cardiff Bay

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

National Memorial Arboretum

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

Salford Quays

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

The war poem by Canadian physician and Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae was written during World War I as a message of hope after red poppies bloomed on the battlefields.

The Royal British Legion are now encouraging the public to buy a poppy to support the Armed Forces Community, both past and present.

‘A symbol of both Remembrance and hope’

The Poppy Appeal 2017 will see over 40 million poppies distributed by 150,000 collectors.

The Royal British Legion’s Director of Fundraising Claire Rowcliffe said, “The Poppy Appeal 2017 is encouraging the public to recognise that your poppy supports the Armed Forces community past and present, and is a symbol of both Remembrance and hope.

“The work of the Legion is as relevant and vital today as it was in the aftermath of the First World War when the charity was founded. The donation for your poppy will help the Legion support today’s Armed Forces community through hardships, injury and bereavements.”

Rowcliffe added, “We’re encouraging people to dig deep for this year’s Poppy Appeal to help us raise £47 million. The Legion’s work is entirely dependent on the public’s generous support – so please wear your poppy with pride.”