# Tower of London moat poppies to raise funds for service charities

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/05/08/tower-london-moat-poppies-raise-funds-service-charities/
- Published: 2014-05-08T11:30:30+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**A carpet of over 800,000 ceramic poppies covering the Tower of London’s dry moat
will raise funds this Autumn for six service charities. The poppies will form an
artistic installation entitled ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ which will mark
the centenary of the start of the First World War.**

The poppies will be sold at £25 each from 5 August 2014 and the net proceeds split
equally between the following service charities:

 * Confederation of Service Charities (COBSEO)
 * Combat Stress
 * Coming Home
 * Help for Heroes
 * Royal British Legion
 * SSAFA (formerly the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association)

If all the poppies are sold then the total sum raised for charity **should exceed
£15 million**.
General the Lord Dannatt, Constable of the [Tower of London](http://www.hrp.org.uk),
said:

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> “The significance of the vital work that these charities provide is one we must
> not forget and is especially poignant as we mark the anniversary of the First 
> World War and remember all those who lived and fought during this time.”

The installation is the work of ceramic artist Paul Cummins and theatre stage designer
Tom Pipe. It will run from 5 August until 11 November 2014.

The scale of the display in an historic London landmark is designed to reflect the
magnitude of the events being commemorated. Each of the 888,246 ceramic poppies 
represents one British and Colonial fatality during the war.
 

## Follow #towerpoppies

The growth of the poppy field and pictures of them can be viewed by searching for
or following the #towerpoppies hashtag on Twitter.

> I'll be at unveiling of [#TowerPoppies](https://twitter.com/hashtag/TowerPoppies?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> later. 110k planted so far. There will be 888k by 11th Nov [pic.twitter.com/KZEhOteSgT](http://t.co/KZEhOteSgT)
> [#WW1](https://twitter.com/hashtag/WW1?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [@PoppyLegion](https://twitter.com/PoppyLegion?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> — Dan Jarvis (@DanJarvisMP) [August 5, 2014](https://twitter.com/DanJarvisMP/status/496654354246803457?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

## How to buy a ceramic poppy

You can buy ceramic poppies from [Historic Royal Palaces](https://poppies.hrp.org.uk/buy-a-poppy/).

## Editor’s update 7 October 2021

The ceramic poppies now have a permanent home at IWM North.

> NEWS | the thousands of ceramic poppies displayed at the Tower of London in 2014–
> marking the centenary of World War I – will now be permanently housed in [@IWMNorth](https://twitter.com/IWMNorth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> in Manchester[https://t.co/OSRJ1jW1FA](https://t.co/OSRJ1jW1FA)
> — maxwell museums (@maxwellmuseums) [October 5, 2021](https://twitter.com/maxwellmuseums/status/1445411408758329354?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 * **[Poppies made from shell casings to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/07/01/poppies-made-shell-casings-commemorate-100th-anniversary-somme-battle/)(
   1 July 2016)**
 * **[VAT waived on Tower poppies sales to boost fundraising income](https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/11/06/vat-waived-tower-poppies-sales-boost-fundraising-income/)(
   6 November 2014)**
 * **[Ghostly WW1 figures art campaign aims to raise £15m for charities](https://fundraising.co.uk/2018/03/07/ghostly-ww1-figures-art-campaign-to-aims-to-raise-15m-for-charities/)(
   7 March 2018)**