Primary school children from The Bay CE Primary School in Sandown joined Chelsea Pensioners at the Hampton Court Flower Show in London on Tuesday to honour Britain’s parks, gardens and grounds staff who died in the First World War.
They had already starred in a similar Battlefields to Butterflies event at Osborne House last month, as previously reported by Island Echo.
The Children from the Community Kids after school club at The Bay Church of England Primary School, who travelled up to the capital by train, planted poppies and sang war-time songs to the delight of visitors to the show.
They were visiting a replica of a ‘battlefields to butterflies’ feature similar to the one that they had helped create at Osborne House.
Visitors to the Hampton Court show are guided through a recreation of WW1 trenches and into a wildflower meadow with poppies, cornflowers, loosestrife, mallows and cranesbills in full bloom.
The feature forms part of a wider commemorative project created by Ryde man Mike Fitt OBE, former Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Parks for The Royal Parks and now chairman of the Royal Parks Guild.
Nicola Taylor, a teacher at The Bay CE Primary School said:
“We were transported to the site in a carriage drawn by shire horses. The children then planted poppies and were escorted by the Chelsea Pensioners through the Battlefields to Butterflies garden. The celebration ended with the Kids singing ‘It’s a Long was to Tipperary’ and ‘Pack up Your Troubles.
Article continues below this advertisement “The Pensioners were so impressed with the children that they would like to visit our school and have extended an invitation to us to go up to their very special residential home for a tour”.
