Macduff poppy display will return to mark VE Day 80th anniversary
A poignant poppy display is set to return to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Since November 2018, the centenary of the end World War One, thousands of knitted and crocheted poppies have been put in place across from Macduff Parish Church at the cross and anchor and at the town’s cemetery for Remembrance Day.
To commemorate the VE Day milestone, a smaller display will be installed.
Coordinator Claire Nicholson said: “There will be some at the anchor, Myrus cemetery and the war memorial in Macduff.
“The display will be out from Wednesday, May 7 to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day. It will start to come down again on Monday, May 19.
“There will be a new item on display. We will also be doing the same in August to mark VJ Day.
In 2019, a cross and a collection box for Poppy Scotland was added to the display and then a year later it did not appear due to the pandemic.
It returned in 2021 to mark the 100th anniversary of the poppy.
The Macduff Cross was extensively renovated in 2022, so more poppies were added to cover the extended area.
As well as the traditional red poppies, the display features different coloured flowers.
There is also the cross with a soldier’s helmet on it, knitted boots and a Lest We Forget ensign.
Over the years the display has had fantastic support from the community with thousands of poppies knitted and crocheted.
Help has also come from people across the world including America, Canada Belgium and Australia.
To install the display the organising group is assisted by the local Coastguard team.
Macduff Shipyards also provides a space to put the display in to dry out afterwards before it goes back into storage.
All the proceeds that are collected from the box at Macduff go to Poppy Scotland.
