How I spent my Saturday afternoon

When I was scrolling through my university's volunteering site for something to do I jumped at the chance to volunteer at the Tower of London's 

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red poppy installation.

When I signed up there was limited information on what the day would actually involve, but since I had heard so much about the installation and the meaning behind it, I knew that I wanted to be involved in any way possible.

I eventually got an email saying that I would be planting poppies, a handful of the 888,246 which represent all of the British military fatalities from the first world war which began over 100 years ago. I was so happy to know that I would be able to play an active role in such a poignant commemoration of the fallen.

As a history student at school and college I learnt a lot about WW1 and how it helped to shape the type of world in which we live today and how the invaluable sacrifices of the soldiers made all of this possible. I always buy a poppy every year but knowing that this year is the centenary anniversary of the beginning of the war made me want to give back even more so this opportunity was perfect for me.

The work itself involved physically assembling the ceramic poppies along with 200 others and then planting them into the moat. As I was doing the work the massiveness of the whole task was overwhelming. At times I my hands grew tired from putting the stiff washers onto the metal poles but then I was reminded that sore hands in no way compares to the suffering and eventual sacrifice that all of the soldiers who died went through and I carried on.

One of the most surreal aspects of the day was the hundreds of spectators who came to see the installation and were watching us plant the poppies, I think I now know what it feels like to be a celebrity! Another highlight was meeting two real life guards, one of them even let me touch his Bear skin hat after I asked whether he could actually see out of it. 

All in all I had a great day, and I would recommend volunteering there to anybody, the installation is only going to be there until Armistice day (Nov 11th) so make sure you get to see it if you haven't already!