Orwell Guides have been poppy yarnstorming the village ahead of this year’s Remembrance Sunday.

Royston Crow: Guide, Ella Hughes, 12, has been working hard making yarn poppies for the displays around Orwell.Guide, Ella Hughes, 12, has been working hard making yarn poppies for the displays around Orwell. (Image: Archant)

This year’s usual Remembrance Sunday parade won’t be happening due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, so 1st Orwell Guides wanted to show the community that the sacrifice of those who died and served in the two World Wars and have not been forgotten.

Girls aged 10-14 were challenged by their leaders to make poppies however they could, from fabric, wool or recycled materials, and then to decorate the village with these poignant reminders of Remembrance and hope for a better future.

They have inspired other members of the local community to join in too, with members of Orwell Methodist Church and family and friends helping out.

Guides volunteered in many roles during the World Wars including running homes for evacuated children, delivering secret messages for MI5, and teaching people who had been bombed out of their homes how to cook on Blitz cookers. This makes Remembrance particularly poignant to those in Girlguiding.

Guide Ella Hughes, 12, said: “I’ve really enjoyed making poppies and am so excited to see them displayed. I will miss attending the Remembrance Service with our flag this year but I’m glad we can still make it special.”

Leader Robyn Moates said: “We are so impressed with the creativity shown by the Guides and the effort put in by both them and all our helpers in the community. We would love if people would add their own poppy to our display or leave a note sharing who they are remembering this year.”

Claire Course, leader with Orwell Guides and county commissioner for Girlguiding Cambridgeshire East, added: “Guides have always been an important part of Remembrance Day services and parades.

“They want to remember the sacrifice of those who died in the two World Wars and since, as well as recognising the amazing contribution that members of Girlguiding made during the wars. “While we are sad that lockdown means we can’t gather this year, we are really proud of our girls for wanting to demonstrate that those sacrifices are not forgotten.”

The poppies will be displayed around both Orwell Methodist Church and St Andrew in Orwell from November 7.