Royal Wootton Bassett Poppy
Donation protected
In 2016 Royal Wootton Bassett received a beautiful gift, a marble sculpture of a Poppy, in gratitude for the way in which the town showed honour to the repatriated personnel.
Sadly in October 2017 The Poppy collapsed.
Our aim is to raise enough money to replace the Poppy and have it placed back on the plinth,
this will be the only monument in the town honouring the 355 British Armed Forces servicemen and women who had lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and were repatriated through Royal Wootton Bassett.
Please read our story and help us raise the funds required to have the Poppy put back in it's rightful place.
In early 2007, maintenance at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire meant that the bodies of British Armed Forces servicemen and women who had lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan were returned home to RAF Lyneham.
The drive from the base to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where the bodies were received by their families, took the cortege along Wootton Basset High Street.
When the town’s branch of The Royal British Legion found out about the detour, they began to line the streets to pay their respect to the fallen soldiers, encouraging other local people to do the same. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of people began to line the route, and when the repairs to Brize Norton were complete the RAF made the decision to keep using RAF Lyneham for the transfer because of the massive demonstration of support shown by the people of Wootton Bassett.
The last and 167th repatriation through Wootton Bassett took place on 18 August 2011
The town gradually became a focal point for those wishing to acknowledge the sacrifice of military personnel, and went on to attract international attention.
During Prime Minister David Cameron's first US visit, President Barack Obama said the townsfolk's solemn tributes marked "the best of British character".
In March 2011 David Cameron, announced that “Her Majesty has agreed to confer the title ‘Royal’ upon the town, as an enduring symbol of the nation’s admiration and gratitude”. Wootton Bassett officially became Royal when the Queen’s daughter Princess Anne brought the letters patent – a written order from the Queen – to the town’s council on 16 October 2011.
The title Royal was in recognition of the role the town played during the repatriations of Military Personnel killed in War
In 2015 a Marble Poppy was kindly gifted by Mark Humphrey to Wootton Bassett as gratitude for the way the Town honoured repatriated military personnel.
The Marble Poppy measured 3 metres high and 3 metres across and weighed an impressive 4.5 tonnes, this was a truly remarkable gift
Sadly in October 2017 the Marble Poppy collapsed,
Our Committee was formed to raise the funds needed to replace the Poppy, our intention is to have the replacement Poppy cast in Bronze.
Sadly in October 2017 The Poppy collapsed.
Our aim is to raise enough money to replace the Poppy and have it placed back on the plinth,
this will be the only monument in the town honouring the 355 British Armed Forces servicemen and women who had lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and were repatriated through Royal Wootton Bassett.
Please read our story and help us raise the funds required to have the Poppy put back in it's rightful place.
In early 2007, maintenance at the RAF Brize Norton base in Oxfordshire meant that the bodies of British Armed Forces servicemen and women who had lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan were returned home to RAF Lyneham.
The drive from the base to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where the bodies were received by their families, took the cortege along Wootton Basset High Street.
When the town’s branch of The Royal British Legion found out about the detour, they began to line the streets to pay their respect to the fallen soldiers, encouraging other local people to do the same. Hundreds and sometimes thousands of people began to line the route, and when the repairs to Brize Norton were complete the RAF made the decision to keep using RAF Lyneham for the transfer because of the massive demonstration of support shown by the people of Wootton Bassett.
The last and 167th repatriation through Wootton Bassett took place on 18 August 2011
The town gradually became a focal point for those wishing to acknowledge the sacrifice of military personnel, and went on to attract international attention.
During Prime Minister David Cameron's first US visit, President Barack Obama said the townsfolk's solemn tributes marked "the best of British character".
In March 2011 David Cameron, announced that “Her Majesty has agreed to confer the title ‘Royal’ upon the town, as an enduring symbol of the nation’s admiration and gratitude”. Wootton Bassett officially became Royal when the Queen’s daughter Princess Anne brought the letters patent – a written order from the Queen – to the town’s council on 16 October 2011.
The title Royal was in recognition of the role the town played during the repatriations of Military Personnel killed in War
In 2015 a Marble Poppy was kindly gifted by Mark Humphrey to Wootton Bassett as gratitude for the way the Town honoured repatriated military personnel.
The Marble Poppy measured 3 metres high and 3 metres across and weighed an impressive 4.5 tonnes, this was a truly remarkable gift
Sadly in October 2017 the Marble Poppy collapsed,
Our Committee was formed to raise the funds needed to replace the Poppy, our intention is to have the replacement Poppy cast in Bronze.
Organizer
Tom Patterson
Organizer
England
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