West Sussex Village Commemorates War Dead with Poppy Display

A village in West Sussex, which experienced the loss of young men in both World Wars but lacks a dedicated war memorial, has devised an inventive method to honor its fallen. Since the beginning of May, a collective of 39 crafters has been engaged in knitting, sewing, and crocheting to produce a crimson carpet composed of over 3,000 poppies. This display has been positioned at the base of a Tommy soldier silhouette, situated in front of The Half Moon pub at Warninglid’s village crossroads. On the morning of Remembrance Sunday, residents will gather at this spot for a ceremony that includes the recitation of the names of those who perished in both conflicts, a reading of “For the Fallen,” and a two-minute period of silence. A relative of two of the war dead is expected to be present, along with a horse symbolizing the animals conscripted for war from the village’s agricultural properties and stables. Carol Pickering spearheaded The Poppy Project, personally contributing 1,550 crocheted poppies to the carpet, which reached completion on October 30. Given that Warninglid currently lacks a church and has never possessed a war memorial, this initiative was established to commemorate individuals who sacrificed their lives in both global conflicts. Their names are inscribed on crosses embedded within the poppy carpet. In 1914, 39 young men from the village departed for war, with 13 failing to return. During World War II, Warninglid suffered the loss of an additional six men in active service between 1940 and 1945, along with several civilians. All these individuals are honored on two Memorial Boards, which previously resided in the former church but will be exhibited at the pub on Remembrance Sunday. Andrew Turville, a great-nephew of two commemorated individuals—Private George Herbert Turville, who passed away on December 7, 1915, and Corporal Percy Turville, who died on September 25, 1917—will be present at the reading. Bobby, a 21-year-old Connemara horse, is set to symbolize all the horses requisitioned from the village’s farms and stables that ultimately did not come back.