The Tower of London will mark the anniversary of the end of World War Two with a display of ceramic poppies installed in the heart of the attraction.
The installation will use poppies from the 2014 artwork, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which saw the Tower encircled by a ‘sea’ of poppies, becoming a site for Remembrance. It was visited by more than five million people.
The display will be formed by nearly 30,000 ceramic poppies from the original display, on loan from Imperial War Museums’ collection. It will sit along the venue’s walls and pour across the lawn overlooked by the White Tower, where the flowers will form a crater, with ripples flowing outwards.
It will open on 6th May, ahead of the 80th anniversary of VE Day on 8th May. It will run until 11th November, culminating in a moment of Remembrance for Armistice Day. When the display closes, the poppies will return to Imperial War Museums’ collection.
Group visits to the Tower of London
Pre-booked groups of 15 or more can visit the Tower of London throughout the year. Visits can include private tours of The Crown Jewels, behind-the-scenes tours led by a Yeoman Warder and evening tours with an opportunity to see the Ceremony of the Keys, the securing of the gates for the night.
Group dining is also available at the New Armouries Café, such as morning coffee and tea, hot and cold lunches and traditional cream teas.
Coach parking can be found two minutes away at Tower Hill Coach and Car Park. Coaches can drop off there free of charge if the stay is under 15 minutes.
Why visit the poppy display?
The Tower suffered heavy aerial bombardment during the Blitz and one of the Yeoman Warders, Samuel Reeves, and a resident, Lily Frances Lunn, died when the fortress took a direct hit, also leaving several of its historic buildings damaged.
Brigadier Andrew Jackson, governor of the Tower of London said: “Many of the community that lives and works at the Tower of London are veterans with a long and distinguished record of service.
“Everyone here is familiar with the Tower’s wartime history and the impact of the previous poppies installation in 2014, so we are looking forward to welcoming visitors to this new display. We hope it will be a shared space to reflect on the sacrifices of the fallen.”
For more information about group visits to the Tower of London go to www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london.
