Christ Church has been displaying 239 ceramic poppies throughout the period leading up to Remembrance Day. Representing the number of lives lost from Christ Church in the First World War, the poppy display is in Tom Quad near the entrance to Christ Church Cathedral.
The poppies displayed were acquired and inspired from the Tower of London art installation, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which marked the WWI centenary last year. Between July and November 2014, artists Paul Cummins and Tom Piper progressively filled the Tower’s moat with 888,246 poppies, each representing a British military fatality in the First World War.
The Dean of Christ Church, the Very Revd. Professor Martyn Percy, told Cherwell, “Visitors have really appreciated the stunning thin red line of ceramic poppies that currently pave the way to the Cathedral in Christ Church.
“They are there as a reminder of the love, lives and loss scattered by war, yet now brought together in acts of Remembrance. Our gatherings and prayers focus on solemnity and silence, recalling the damage, loss and grief that war brings.
“We also remember the sacrifice that many have made for peace, and the common commitment and resolve we now share to establish concord and reconciliation across the world. The poppies at Christ Church are a reminder of the number who fell in the Great War of 1914-18.
“Each poppy in Tom Quad is a poignant reminder of a young life lost. And each act of Remembrance is a renewed undertaking that we will continue to remember those who died – and in so doing, endeavour to build a world established in peace.”
Robbie Mallett, a fourth-year physicist and JCR Welfare Rep at the College, said, “I’m proud that Christ Church has chosen to commemorate the members of the College who have lost their lives to war.
“The poppies remind us that war isn’t confined to the twentieth century and we aren’t exempt from the lessons learned and still to learn.”
