A craft group from New Hartley has created a post box topper as a tribute ahead of Remembrance day. The decoration consists of a tower and cascading poppies that has been inspired by the display put on each year at the Tower of London.
The topper was worked on by around 10 members of the group, and uses a combination of different crafting styles such as knitting, crochet, sewing and other techniques.
The group was started in September 2021 by Michelle Williams, 52 and they meet fortnightly in the local village hall. "It's a great social time and a place for loads of creative ideas", said Michelle.
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They have created different post box toppers for other notable events in the past, such as one with the Queen, royal guards and her corgis for the Platinum Jubilee back in June.
They replaced that with an ice cream van topper over the summer and felt that the Remembrance day commemoration was worthy of a special project.
Janette Barnes, 65, is new to the village of New Hartley, but she has already felt a warm welcome from the community.
"I am relatively new to the village but New Hartley is a wonderful place to live and I’ve made many friends, not least the ladies at the craft group. We share ideas and help each other all the time. This village has, like many others been touched by the tragedy of war and remembers the fallen every year. As we had already done a Jubilee and a spring post box topper, it seemed fitting to do a Remembrance one too," she said.
"This was inspired by the displays in past years such as the one in Carlisle and also nearby Blyth, and incorporates many crafts, so everyone could take part and honour our fallen. It’s a great tradition and knits the village together, making sure we make the most of our facilities in the community hall."
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