East Sussex College to use Eastbourne resident’s poppy display at remembrance service

The poppy cascade, created by Eileen Digby-Rogers, will be displayed at the college’s Eastbourne campus’ remembrance service.

The college is marking Remembrance Day on Friday, November 11, at 11am with a two-minute silence across each campus. The poppy cascade will mark the entrance to the college’s Eastbourne campus.

The display was on show at Mrs Digby-Rogers’ home last year to help raise money for The Royal British Legion. The display was also put up outside Mrs Digby-Rogers’ house earlier this month. The poppies are crocheted and knitted, with some even made from felt, satin and plastic plates.

The Eastbourne resident said: “When I moved to Eastbourne in 2019 I found in the understairs cupboard a screwed up vinyl which I learnt was placed on the pavement outside my house by Eastbourne Heritage, along with many others around the town - each telling the brief story of one individual who served in World War One and had a connection to the area, as a tribute to these brave souls who gave their lives.”

In Mrs Digby-Rogers’ case, it was Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Alderman Chase - who previously lived in her house.

She added, “I wanted to pay tribute to this particular individual myself, so I spent hours restoring the vinyl as best I could and I put it on our front path, it almost felt like he had ‘come home’ if that doesn’t sound too ridiculous. I then thought these heroes shouldn’t be forgotten heroes, and wanted to take it one step further and had the idea of the cascade, as my house is on the corner with a balcony and would lend itself nicely to such a display. Plus, I’m very close to Gildredge School and therefore get a lot of footfall.

“Together with my friend Sue Storey, a longtime resident of Eastbourne and therefore more connections than I, we reached out to the community through social media, the Eastbourne Herald, WWI and along with various friends and neighbours, the project was underway. The poppies started arriving and there were up to six of us at any one time sitting round my dining table sewing them onto the backing.”

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