ANYONE who bought a poppy from the First World War art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London is being asked to take it to a special event in Worcester’s Gheluvelt Park.

Unveiled on July 17, 2014, the display marked 100 years since the first full day of Britain's involvement in the First World War.

It was created by artists Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, who used 888,246 ceramic poppies in the moving spectacle.

Each poppy represented a British military fatality during the war.

Now the poppies will be seen again at a Drumhead Service in Gheluvelt Park on Saturday, September 15.

The service will be followed by an act of commemoration with poppies from the Tower of London and the Worcestershire World War One Hundred team is urging those who bought poppies to bring them along, together with the stories of why they bought them.

Based on military tradition, a Drumhead Service is a religious service conducted in the field during conflict and in peacetime, with neatly-piled drums draped with flags creating a makeshift altar. Towards the end of the ceremony the public will be encouraged to create a sombre spectacle with their own poppies.

Adrian Gregson, Worcestershire World War One Hundred project manager said: “Like many people I was incredibly moved by the art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London in 2014 and purchased my own poppy.

“I bought the poppy specifically to remember my great uncle Corporal Erlam Greaves who was killed on April 9, 1918 at Givenchy in France. Talking to my Grandma about him is what inspired me to work on my PhD and ultimately to write a book about his battalion, 7th King's Liverpool Regiment.

“ More generally, I wanted to have some permanent record of the Centenary of the Great War and having one bit of that immensely moving and impressive art installation at the Tower at once made me feel part of the wider commemoration as well as being able to be specific in my remembrance.”

“The War, in my view, was a catalytic experience in technology, medicine, society, attitude, and geo-politics, events which still resonate when we discuss what is happening in the Middle East, the Balkans, and now with our European partners in Brexit. While it is still just about tangible, since I and many others of my age or older had contact with serving veterans of the conflict, for anyone under 50 it is probably ‘only’ an historical event, like so many others. However, I still believe that as an historical event it was momentous in the range of its impact in a way in which no other conflict has been. I hope all those who bought a poppy will bring it and the story of who they are remembering to what promises to be a very special, and moving, service in Gheluvelt Park on September 15.”

The service is open to all. Visitors are asked to be present by 12 noon and the service will start at 12.30pm.

Find out more about the Drumhead Service on: ww1worcestershire.co.uk Find out more about the art installation as well as the subsequent touring exhibition on : tower-of-london/history-and-stories/tower-of-london-remembers