D-Day display of hundreds of poppies installed in Bray

A display of numerous poppies was laid out on Bray Village Green last Thursday night to honour the fallen of D-Day.

In memorial of the fateful day, poppies were arranged in an 8 and a 0 for its eightieth anniversary.

The installation was masterminded by Paula Killoran, who owns Bray Hair Studio on Bray High Street.

Seven years she enquired about the fate of the poppies placed on memorials in Bray, Holyport and Fifield, and learned they were usually thrown away.

She decided to begin an ongoing project to collect them back up again after every Remembrance Day each year, for reuse next year.

Paula hit upon the idea to put in an installation using these poppies for D-Day following a conversation with a client.

“One of my clients told me that his grandfather was on the beaches,” she said.

“I thought, I've got about 3,000 poppies in my attic, what can we do? We thought we’d do an eight and a zero.”

The project eventually expanded and became an arrangement including the word D-Day, and a scattering of poppies around it.

Friends, family and the community, especially Paula's sister, ‘helped massively’ with the mammoth endeavour.

It took about three hours to install the poppies with the help, completed in the evening last Thursday for people to enjoy in time for D-Day, which is today (June 6).

“It felt quite emotional to do it,” said Paula. “Every poppy you put down, you think, ‘That’s a soldier.’”

Since doing this, Paula has had ‘amazing cards and messages’ from appreciative people in Bray.

“I’ve been overwhelmed with messages from clients and people in the village – very kind messages,” she said.

True to form, the poppies will be meticulously collected back up again for reuse next Remembrance Day.

An aerial photo showing the installation in all its glory was taken by Holyport resident James Camplin.