Tower of London Poppies.

[roysmith99]

I would like to share my reasons why I have bought four, one for each close family member lost in the two world wars. One will be given to each of my children, one kept for myself and the last one donated on permanent exhibition at an indoor location - still to be confirmed.

 

We have been told that the poppies may crack or break if they become subject to frost. However, if it were practical I would be happy to let those I have bought remain on display somewhere until 2018.

 

Although the cost was £25 each, it is only the net proceeds that will be distributed to the charities - Plus a guaranteed 10% - so we are still not sure much.

 

I thought long and hard about buying four when they were first advertised but felt that this was appropriate as we had lost four close family members. My son is in the British Army and is probably donating his to his regiment. My daughter is an Air Cadet staff officer and is likely to do the same to her squadron HQ. My own is going to be mounted alongside the photographs of: my grandfather,who was at the Somme (and survived); my father who was in the RAF in WW2 (also survived) and my uncle who gave his life defending the Dunkirk Evacuation in 1940 and lies in a war cemetery in Belgium.

 

The others I remember by purchasing these poppies are two brothers; Harry and Arthur Mason who died in WW1 (commemortaed in France, but never identified) and my wife's uncle, an RAF pilot who lies eternal peace in Hanover War Cemetery in Germany.

 

I am pleased to see that eBay have already stated they will not allow these poppies to be sold on their site.

 

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Edited November 16, 2014 by roysmith99

[Globaliser]

Although the cost was £25 each, it is only the net proceeds that will be distributed to the charities - Plus a guaranteed 10% - so we are still not sure much.

The figure of about £15 million has been increasingly confidently mentioned. I think that the organisers were originally more coy about this because (judging from things said in publicity material) it depended critically on how many they would sell. The costs of producing the poppies and planting and unplanting them were basically fixed, so if they'd only sold a fraction of them there might not have been much by way of "net proceeds". But the magnificent response seems to have guaranteed that the charities will benefit handsomely.

[ellie1145]

However, I doubt that they're all going to disappear overnight. Anyone who has a chance next week should I think still be able to see most of the display.No, that was announced yesterday. (Again, I suspect that this has been the plan all along.)

 

Sections including the Weeping Window and the Wave will remain in place until the end of November. There will then be a tour around the country, and they will thereafter go on permanent display at the Imperial War Museum in 2018.[/quote

 

I am sorry to disillusion you but the Weeping Window and the Wave have already been dismantled!

 

We went up to London on Thursday (13th, two days after armistice day) and we were very disappointed to see that these iconic areas had been removed. Large areas of the poppies had gone too.

 

Like many other visitors we spent a long time walking up and down looking for the Weeping Window and the Wave but they had gone.

 

From the amount of poppies that had been removed in just 48 hours I can see it disappearing rapidly, so if you have not seen it already then you will need to get there ASAP.

 

We understand that the poppies could have been at risk if there had been a frost as they might have shattered, so that is another reason for their hasty removal.

 

But it is disappointing, nevertheless. Even with the Window and Wave being removed it was an amazing sight and very emotional to look at.

Edited November 16, 2014 by ellie1145

[Morgans]

Ellie , this is very strange because we were there on Thursday too and the Weeping window and the wave were very definitely still there at midday as were the crowds. Our daughter lives around the corner from the Tower and we have followed theiir installation closely. They have started dismantling the display and are getting very muddy in the process.

[Globaliser]

I am sorry to disillusion you but the Weeping Window and the Wave have already been dismantled!

Ellie , this is very strange because we were there on Thursday too and the Weeping window and the wave were very definitely still there at midday as were the crowds.

I haven't been that way since last Monday, but I would be astonished if the Weeping Window and the Wave have been dismantled. It was only a week ago that a promise was publicly made to keep them in place until the end of November, and there would have been an enormous outcry if that promise had been immediately broken. But there's nothing in any of the media suggesting this.

 

For anyone else who gets the chance to have a look, the Weeping Window is on the northwestern corner of the Tower, and the Wave "breaks" from south to north over the bridge that forms the main visitor entrance to the Tower over the moat at the southwestern corner.

[newport dave]

As of 1130 this morning the wave is still there, but couldn't see the window one!!!!

[Globaliser]

As of 1130 this morning the wave is still there, but couldn't see the window one!!!!

I've just been to have a look.

 

Sadly, the Weeping Window has indeed gone. I am astonished, given the clear terms of what was said on the final weekend of the full display. The only thing that I can find on the Internet is some post-Armistice Day spin that said that it would be there until the poppies around it (in the northwestern corner of the moat) had all gone. I suspect that it has proved to be impossible to keep it safe while the temporary building is being put up in the north moat.

 

The volunteers are clearing the east and west moats from north to south, but the south moat is still full of poppies.

Our daughter lives around the corner from the Tower ...

OT, but IIRC you were fond of Rosemary Lane? I noticed the other day that some builders seem now to have started work on the site, although there don't seem to be any notices up that might suggest what is happening to it.

[Morgans]

Indeed Globaliser - well spotted. It's been painted and freshened up but have no idea what it will be or when new opening is. It was a shame the restaurant closed as the food was always excellent. We gather there was a problem with the lease so will keep our eyes peeled for any developments.

[aquilegia]

It was stated yesterday that that the last poppy is due to be removed on 28th November but that it could happen sooner. Over half of them have been removed already. Some people have already received the poppies they've bought. The Wave and the Weeping Window are supposed to be going on tour around towns and cities until 1918. Can't quite figure out how they are going to display them.

[Ray66]

I received my poppy today. It is in a very nicely presented display box.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We stayed at a hotel near the Tower of London for a few days before our TA from Harwich. The poppy display was not nearly complete at that time. but, it was one of my favorite sights in London. I can visit again and see the Rosetta Stone or Stonehenge--but, I can never see this again.

 

[Bob++]

What a great picture Dragon. Were you there early? Or late.