Poppy Roundels at London Tube Stations

Lovely! thanks for the article.

In 2014 the Remembrance Day poppies were an art piece at the Tower of London. Was gorgeous.

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/history-and-stories/tower-of-london-remembers/#gs.0i5tlz

Oh that is so cool! I love the poppy wrapped buses! You all, as a nation, are much better at remembering this than we are.

I agree with Claudia. That poppy display at the Tower of London was amazing. I was doing my first really long trip to Europe that year and thought what the heck...I'll start in London so I can see them.

So very moving! Just realizing the display "consisted of 888,246 ceramic red poppies, each intended to represent one British or Colonial serviceman killed in the War. The ceramic artist was Paul Cummins"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Swept_Lands_and_Seas_of_Red

As an interesting travel related aside, the paper for all the poppies sold in the UK is made in the Lake District- at James Cropper paper mill, Burneside- a little village just off the A591 between Kendal and Windermere.
Next Saturday, Armistice Day, I will be present at the unveiling of a new war memorial in my home town- to two men who were unintentionally missed off all the various memorials in the town 100 years or so ago. Their names have emerged through diligent research by myself.

And in a week or so time, when I am transferring from Waterloo to Victoria I will be doing a long diversion via Bounds Green tube station to photograph a plaque to 19 people who lost their lives there when the station (being used as an air raid shelter) was bombed in WW2- some of whom were Belgian refugees from the war. Bounds Green was one of several tube stations bombed, with substantial loss of life.
There are plaques at each but one of the stations bombed- Sloane Square being the exception.

Wow, kudos to you for doing the research on the men's names so they could be added!

And interesting about the tube stations. You are REALLY making a diversion! Bounds Green looks so far north! It makes me wonder if the Germans were just bombing randomly in that area or was there some target nearby?

Bounds Green was a tragic incident (as were each of the tube station bombings). It was a sole aircraft which had been circling the area (probably lost) for about half an hour, looking for a target. Having failed to find a target it just dropped it's bomb randomly, one single bomb. Three of those who were killed had been previously bombed out of two different homes on the two previous nights.
Although not stated on the plaque another 4 of those killed are believed to have been Italian refugees- they had also been bombed out of their previous home.
The youngest casualty was aged just 18 months.

Yes quite a long divert. But there is a bus goes almost all the way up there from Waterloo, then just jump on the tube on the way back, change at Finsbury Park. A very non touristy evening.

Thanks for that additional information...I wondered if they just dropped the bomb wherever. Everything would have been blacked out so no idea what he was targeting. Non-touristy but very satisfying to remember the ones lost.