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The Tower of London poppies memorial is almost finished and it looks spectacular

The powerful ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ installation has had ceramic poppies gradually added to it to commemorate the British and Colonial soldiers who died during the First World War

The poignant Tower of London poppies memorial is nearing completion in central London - and it’s already been seen by more than four million people.

The powerful ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ installation has had ceramic poppies gradually added to it to commemorate the British and Colonial soldiers who died during the First World War.

In under two weeks, a total of 888,246 poppies will have been installed around the moat of the iconic Tower.

The memorial has been so popular - particularly this week with schools broken up for half term - that Tower of London officials have had to put extra crowd control measures in place.

Some visitors claim there have been hour-long queues to access nearby tube stations at peak times, and the installation has also helped visitor numbers entering the Tower of London itself.

Red ceramic poppies that form part of the art installation
Red ceramic poppies that form part of the art installation


The ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas or Red’ display will be on show until November 11 - Armistice Day - when the final poppy is planted.

After that, the individual poppies will be sold off for £25 each to raise cash for military charities.
The display was created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins.

He said: 'I was inspired to create this installation after reading a living will by an unknown soldier who we think may have been from Derby.

Click above for more pictures
Click above for more pictures


'I approached the Tower as the ideal setting as its strong military links seemed to resonate.

'The installation is transient, I found this poignant and reflective of human life, like those who lost their lives
during the First World War. I wanted to find a fitting way to remember them.'

Tower of London General Lord Dannatt said: 'We have been astounded by the overwhelming public support to the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation at the Tower of London.

'In this significant year of the centenary, it has been heartening to see so many people engaging with the project; either by volunteering their time, buying a poppy and helping to raise millions of pounds for service charities or by visiting the poppies and remembering all of those who died in the First World War.’