Red Cross and Country Women's Association mark World War One centenary with handmade poppies | Photos

Ladies from the Junee-Illabo Red Cross and the Junee Evening Branch of Country Women's Association have been meeting once a fortnight to knit, crochet, and sew thousands of red poppies with love. 

President of the Junee-Illabo Red Cross Jenny Morton said the poppies will be displayed on two important days later this year.

“We want to make an installation of some sort in Broadway in the lead up to Anzac Day,” Ms Morton said.

“But then our poppies will be passed on to the Australian War Memorial, and they’re planning on doing an installation of 62,000 poppies in the five weeks leading up to Remembrance Day in November to represent the number of Australians who died in World War I.” 

Ms Morton called on the whole community to come and join them at their future poppy-making sessions.

“It's a good way for people to get together – we get lots of mothers and daughters – so its a lovely way to bring the community together to commemorate,” she said.

“We're open for anybody who would like to come along and share in the process, and even if they only make one poppy they're still contributing to the memory.

“And if anyone would like to use this as an opportunity to learn how to knit and crochet, then we're more than happy to teach them.” 

Resident poppy-maker Barb Wignall said the project carried extra meaning for the women with family who fought and lost their lives.

“We all had ancestors fight in the wars – some that tragically didn’t come home – and this gives us a way to honour them.”

“We certainly have a proud history of people serving in Junee, and you’ve only got to go down to the cenotaph to see all the names – for a small town, we lost a lot.” 

If you’d like to join in, poppy-making sessions will be held on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the Junee Library from 10am.