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Painted poppy display for Brandon




Ali Barnes fro Brandon wil be putting a display up on the town's cemetary gates (3079548)
Ali Barnes fro Brandon wil be putting a display up on the town's cemetary gates (3079548)

A Brandon woman has organised a display to commemorate the town's fallen soldiers of World War One.

Ali Barnes, 42, came up with the idea back in 2014 after seeing the town's efforts to observe the start of the war.

She said: "Brandon held a candle-lit vigil for it and I thought it was such a shame we didn't do more.

"Thetford did quite a lot, so this year I wanted to do something special to remember them."

At first Ali wanted to do a mural but after being unable to find a suitable place for one she chose to make 65 clay poppies, each one with the name of a solider and when they died from the town's memorial on them.

The volunteer at the Brandon Heritage Centre organised a paint weekend there at the start of the month for the poppies and had a great response.

Ali said: "I was so pleased, we even had descendants from some of the people come and paint their own poppy,

"It was a real success, with about 100 people over the course of the weekend coming in to help."

Now that they are painted she plans to hang them on the gates of Brandon Cemetery, where she works as a town keeper, from November 11 for a week.

After this people will get the chance to buy them with all the proceeds going to the Poppy Appeal.

She said: "I just think it is important for us to remember them as they gave everything so that we can have the lifestyles we have today.

"They deserve to be remembered and the 100th anniversary of the end of the war is the perfect time to do that."

The centre also has their own poppy magnets and brooches made by Ali, currently on sale, with those funds going to the heritage centre.