Nearly 28,000 handmade poppies create moving tribute at Southsea Castle

Almost 28,000 knitted and crocheted poppies have been brought together at Southsea Castle in Portsmouth to honour Britain’s fallen service personnel. The display grew from a local appeal into a nationwide project, bringing contributors together and giving the public a striking place to remember those who served.

The project was proposed by Alexis Seed, who runs the Southsea craft shop Seeded, after Portsmouth City Council suggested the castle as a location. Among those moved by the tribute is former Royal Navy captain Peter Galloway, who served aboard HMS Glamorgan during the Falklands War. An Argentine Exocet missile struck the ship on 12 June 1982, killing 13 servicemen who were buried at sea.