888,246 Poppies!!

I, along with several other volunteers spent the morning planting ceramic poppies at the Tower of London to commemorate the centenary of the First World War and to date an incredible £11.2million for charity.

Entitled Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, the art installation will eventually see a staggering 888,246 poppies appear in the grounds of the Tower - one for every soldier from the UK, Australia and the Commonwealth killed during the Great War.
The first flower was planted on 17 July and the last will be put in place on 11 November to coincide with Armistice Day.

The poppy has long been the symbol of military remembrance in Britain since the First World War, when a poem from the time recalled the bright-red flower growing in the fields of Flanders.

Each of the poppies will be sold for £25 each and sent to buyers after Armistice ceremonies have been completed. So far 450,000 people have placed an advance order.

The money raised will go to British charities such as the Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes, which help British veterans.

Some 8,000 volunteers have been working to place the ceramic flowers, the work of artist Paul Cummins, into the ground.

Last month, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry also visited the Tower to plant poppies.