Permanent Tower of London poppies sculpture to be unveiled in Greater Manchester

Tens of thousands of ceramic poppies, first displayed at the Tower of London, are to find a permanent home here in Greater Manchester.

The dramatic art work visited here in 2018, when Poppies: Wave saw thousands of poppies cascading down the side of the Imperial War Museum North.

Now, the poignant flowers will return to IWM North in a new sculptural form, cascading down the 180 ft-high Air Shard.

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The new work is set to be completed on November 10, just ahead of Remembrance Day, forming part of the museum's Remembrance programming.

The local museum will be the permanent home for the installation, which was originally part of the Tower of London's Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.

888,246 poppies were displayed at the London landmark back in 2014, with each flower representing a British or colonial life lost at the front during the First World War.

The poppies will cascade down and pool in the 180 ft-high Air Shard (Mirrorpix)

The mass of poppies were then broken down into smaller installations, which toured 19 locations around the UK over several years.

The original concept came from artist Paul Cummins with Tom Piper designing the installation.

Poppies have become a symbol of remembrance - they were often seen on the battlefields of the Western Front, and features in John McCrae's 1915 poem In Flanders Fields.

The poppies at their original home at the Tower of London (PA)

The poem concluded with the lines: "We shall not sleep, though poppies grow / In Flanders fields."

The sculptures now form part of IWM's collection and will be on permanent display at the museum across the water from Salford Quays.

Laura Clouting, senior curator of First World War and Early 20th Century at IWM, says: "It feels really fitting to have the poppies return and make their home at IWM North.

"IWM was founded over a century ago amidst the First World War to ensure that we never forget the human cost of war.

"This sculpture, both an artwork and a piece of social history, will provide visitors with the opportunity to consider these consequences of war afresh."

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