HRH The Duchess of Gloucester opened the 96th Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday 7th November 2024. The Field of Remembrance will remain open until daily Sunday 17th November, and members of the public are invited to visit and to plant their own tributes. All donations will be given to the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal.
The annual event, which marks the start of the nation’s Remembrance commemorations, has been held every year since 1928, when the Poppy Factory brought a tray of poppies and a collecting tin to the grounds of St Margaret's Church. Only a handful of poppies were planted around a single cross, but it began a tradition that has grown over the decades, and now a sea of scarlet poppies covers St Margaret’s churchyard in the Abbey grounds each November.
In his welcome to this year’s event, the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, said: ‘For the 96th time at the Field of Remembrance we meet again to remember those who gave their lives in the conflicts of our time, that we might enjoy freedom and peace. At the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month of 1918, the First World War ended: that date, that time, have become a symbolic moment on which to pause in silent remembrance and gratitude. With full hearts at this, our Field of Remembrance, let us pray for the peace of the whole world.’