News

2026

JANUARY

Poppy Appeal – Standing with Giants

Request for WI Support with Poppies for 2026

Standing with Giants have been in touch over the past couple of years regarding the WI’s incredible involvement in creating knitted and crocheted red poppies for their displays.

The response in 2024 was extraordinary. In total, 37,000 poppies were sent in from WI members across the country and formed a central part of our display around the 18 soldier stillage crates in Normandy. Standing with Giants were overwhelmed by the generosity and care shown and remain hugely grateful to every member who contributed.

The Founder of Standing with Giants, Dan Barton and Project Coordinator, Janette Barton, were very fortunate to be guests earlier this month on BBC Breakfast, where they spoke about the journey of Standing with Giants and the impact of their For Your Tomorrow display since its appearance at the British Normandy Memorial in 2024. During the interview, they made a point of thanking WI members across the country for their extraordinary support, and shared how much they would love to involve the WI again as the project continues – https://fb.watch/EoQH7kUa4i/

Standing with Giants are now planning the restoration of the plinths that surround the soldier storage crates. This involves carefully removing all poppies for cleaning and, where possible, reapplying them. However, after prolonged exposure to the elements, a number of poppies have deteriorated or faded and will need to be replaced.

As they prepare for displays planned for 2026, they would very much love to involve the WI once again and ask WI members to craft additional poppies for their display.

To make this as simple as possible for WI groups, the guidance is as follows:

There is no specific pattern or size required — members are welcome to knit or crochet in any style they choose
Poppies should be red (any shade of red is absolutely fine)
A pattern is attached for reference, if helpful
Where possible, they kindly ask that pure acrylic wool is used, as it offers the best colour retention for outdoor display. They understand this is sometimes referred to as solution-dyed acrylic, where the dye is locked into the fibre during manufacture and is much more fade-resistant
Groups can make as many poppies as they wish — the more, the better
Please include the name of the WI Group and contact name.
Please include the total number of poppies enclosed, as we will not have capacity to count them individually
Closing date: 7 March 2026

Poppies can be sent to:

Janette Barton

Standing with Giants

PO Box 637

Witney OX28 9QN

It would be wonderful to work with WI members again on the next chapter of this project.

Thank you once again for the tremendous support shown by the WI.

Poppy-Patterns Download