MORE than 1,000 discarded plastic bottles have been turned into a moving tribute to 26 men from Etherley who gave up their lives in the First World War.
Enterprising parishioners Glenys Egglestone and Marie Cadman were inspired by the poppy display at the Tower of London in 2014 when they came up with the idea of doing something similar at Etherley Methodist Church.
The result is a sea of 2,000 poppies cascading down the front of the church.
About 16 people from the church got involved in producing the poppies during a weekly “Friday Bottle Club” meeting.
Mrs Cadman said: “It was like a production line. It was the most fantastic social event. There were cups of tea and we were singing to Elvis and Abba.”
It took the group four weeks to produce the poppies which were made from empty plastic bottles salvaged from trash bins, local cafes and along street verges.
Along with the sea of poppies, the group also produced a memorial with 27 poppies, each with the 26 names the soldiers from village who died, as well as another who died at a field hospital that was stationed near Etherley.
Mrs Cadman said: “He is buried in the cemetery but he is not on the war memorial, so we now have him on our memorial.”
In addition the parishioners made a plastic bottle poppy wreath, which, by sheer coincidence, has exactly 26 of the blood-red flowers on it.
Apart from the visual displays which will be in place until Remembrance Sunday, November 11, the church has three major events for the centenary.
The first was a talk about the first day of the battle of the Somme by The Green Howards Museum which was organised by the history group that meets at the church.
The next event is a screening of In The Pink, a documentary about the Gaunless Vally’s contribution to the war effort, on Thursday, October 18, at 7pm.
The final event, on Saturday, November 3, will be two live performances by Enter CIC of their Over The Wire production.
The performance has been rejigged to include two men from Etherley, Fred Gaskin and Robert Wilson, who died in war.
The men’s families gifted a communion tray to the church in their memory. Parishioner Jean Slack has since decorated the tray with poppies she knitted, also to honour the men.
The performances will take place at 2pm and 7.30pm and tickets can be booked online at ticketsource.co.uk/enter or by calling 01388 526692.
