1000-strong poppy display hanging proud at Newton Sea Cadets

With the idea to do something out of the ordinary this year, Caroline Ratcliffe got to work on a Remembrance project that she wanted to drape down the Newton Sea Cadets building, on Cross Lane.

Assisted by cadet members, community groups, and local schools, the project took around a month to complete and was finally unveiled earlier this week.

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Around a thousand poppies have made up the memorial (Image: Caroline Ratcliffe)
Caroline, a petrol station worker and trainer at the sea cadets, said: "I've done smaller Remembrance projects before so I came up with an idea to go bigger than I had done before.

"When I first started, I did think I may have bit off more than I could chew, but once people were aware of what I was doing, people were sending poppies from all over St Helens.

"The cadets have been at the heart of it all and helped to add all the poppies together, and the Business For Youth group and District primary school were a big help too."

The memorial has attracted a great response from the community (Image: Caroline Ratcliffe)
After the installation was unveiled this week - which also lights up in the evenings - Caroline said that there has been "absolutely brilliant feedback".

Caroline added: "It was four weeks of work going into the memorial so I'm really glad about the response it's had.

"It actually makes me well up as it shows that there is an amazing sense of community here."

Meeting twice a week, the sea cadets offer a mix of activities and trips, while also teaching the traditions of the Royal Navy.

Following the response of this year's poppy memorial, the 29-year-old said that this has given her the confidence to go even "bigger and better" next year.