Heckington hit 10,000 poppies target for First World War project

Residents at Greenacres care home in Heckington produced 950 poppies towards the Heckington 100 project, which has just reached 10,000 hand made poppies created for its display.

A new, major milestone has been reached in the Heckington 100 Project.

The scheme has asked people to create handmade poppies in tribute to the sacrifices made locally in the First World War.

It is designed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War this year.

Organisers had an initial target of 1,000 poppies.

However, this has now been surpassed by a factor of 10.

Heckington residents and people from not just out of the village or county, but out of the country and even continent took up the challenge and, as of this week, the number of poppies knitted, crotched, and made from other material has reached the 10,000 mark.

This includes 950 poppies from Greenacres Care Home in the village.

Poppies are being handed in on a weekly basis and have come from all corners of the globe including Australia, Ireland, and many different locations within the UK.

The Heckington 100 Project will be launched at the Heckington Show this weekend.

Poppies will be on display in St Andrew’s Church, Heckington, from Saturday, October 27, to Sunday, November 11.

Everyone will be welcome to visit the church and enjoy the display of poppies.

At the Heckington Show, the project will have a display within the Heritage Tent.

There will also be an opportunity for visitors to remember a loved one by selecting a paper poppy, writing a message on it, and then hanging it on ‘the poppy tree’.

This will also be on show at the church during the poppy display.

Organisers of the Heckington 100 Project described it as a great opportunity to remember those individuals who never came back from the Great War, saying the poppies are a true symbol of the courage of generations and are a great way to remember those special people.