Calling all knitters and natterers!
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust needs your help to make at least 30,000 poppies for an exciting project.
To mark the centenary of WW1, Blackpool Victoria Hospital has planned an impressive temporary memorial to be erected next November in the main entrance.
The installation will be interactive and used in a variety of ways to remember those killed or injured in conflict.
The poppies will then be sold to raise money for the Royal British Legion.
Associate Director of Facilities at the Trust, Nigel Fort, said: “Anyone can help us reach our total and we would like people far and wide to contribute to this unique project.
“It doesn’t matter if you can’t knit or crochet; we will be putting an instruction video on the Trust’s website. There are also easy knitting patterns to follow, courtesy of Mrs Johnson’s Emporium in Blackpool.
“Poppies can be crocheted or knitted and you can follow whatever pattern you like as long as the poppies are red with a black centre.”
There is a designated container situated in the Blackpool Victoria main entrance and main desk in the Outpatient reception which are available to drop off completed poppies between 8.15am and 4.00pm, Monday to Friday and free patterns available nearby. There is also a box in which to leave poppies and patterns to take in the entrance to Clifton Hospital, Pershore Road, Lytham St Annes.
Poppies can also be posted to Nigel Fort, Main Entrance, Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Whinney Heys Road, Blackpool, FY3 8NR.
The Trust is also holding its own Knit and Natter sessions at Blackpool Victoria Hospital’s Restaurant, every second Monday of the month and in the Garden Room at Clifton Hospital, Pershore Road, Lytham St Annes on every fourth Monday of the month.
There are already many groups and individuals on board and it is hoped that as more groups get involved, they can also act as drop off points. Information will be updated on the Trust’s website, including groups that you may be able to join. Please check back regularly.
The hospital’s poppy team is also planning a special event to get contributors together in a thank you event sometime next November.
The Trust’s Communications department is also interested in hearing stories and copying photos of any military personnel who were from Blackpool and the surrounding area, especially if they were treated at any of the local hospitals during the First or Second World Wars. We would also welcome stories of what life was like across the Fylde during World War two.
If you are interested in getting involved or have an interesting story to tell, please email: Communications@bfwhospitals.nhs.uk
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