The Poppies from The Tower of London have been framed in many various ways. One of our customers came to us with two poppies which she wanted to be framed in an artistic and evocative way. We had several discussions and the customer was ultimately happy with our suggestions. She had told us that her and her husband’s Grandfathers had both served at The Somme and she would like this link represented in some way in the finished piece.
The background is an aged replica trench map of the frontline at The Somme. The oak poppy holders were hand-made from timbers from a barn of that period and the base holders for the poppies were detectorist finds from The Somme of German Mauser bullet casings. The badges were from both men, one who transferred to the Tank Corps during that period (hence three badges). The barbed wire was used to symbolically link together the two poppies.
The Poppies were encased in a five-sided acrylic box in order to enhance viewing. The mouldings used were selected because of their metalic, rusty finish and one of the patterns emulated the barbed wire ‘pigtail’ anchor posts used in the trenches.