Thame children sow poppies to commemorate WW1 centenary

LOCAL children from Beavers and Rainbows have been busy this week, helping to plant patches of poppies along the Phoenix Trail, in Thame.

The project, led by the Town Council in collaboration with Sustrans, is one of the town’s many events to mark the centenary of World War I. The area that has been planted is along the old railway line, including the site of the old Thame Station from where the young men of  Thame and the surrounding villages, who had enlisted for the military, would have left to go and fight in the war.

The red poppy was adopted as a symbol for the terrible loss of life on the battlefields of the First World War, inspired by the words of the poem ‘In Flanders Field’ by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel, John McCrae:

“In Flanders Field the poppies grow, Between the crosses, row on row…”

The poppies that the children have planted are expected to flower next summer. The Council has thanked everyone who took part in the planting and Taplins for providing a rotavator to help with the digging.