Volunteers worked tirelessly in darkness tonight for nearly three hours putting the poppy nets around the Clock Tower in readiness for Remembrance Day. The project organised by the Skegness Royal British Legion has seen months of hard work by thousands of people from all over the world. The total number of poppies placed were 37,082 - and the lucky person who guessed it will win a hamper. But the real winners are those members of the community from far and wide who came together to make a dream of Poppy Appeal organiser Tracy Turner a reality in remembrance of those who have given their lives in battle.
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00:00Tracey, tonight's the night. How are you feeling?
00:07Tonight's the night. Sick with excitement. I've lied to so many people, I'm sorry, but
00:12we had our hands tied. It is going up tonight, the 19th, and it will be going down on the
00:1912th of November, and we've got a brilliant team here. A hoop of sordidge have just brought
00:26the nets over. I just hope we don't let anybody down.
00:34Neil, can you help them?
00:52Cherry, you've been part of this project from the start. How are you feeling tonight? You
00:56look very breezy down there.
00:58Exhausted, but it's really worth it. It's just amazing, and there's been such a lovely
01:04load of people come out tonight, and it's really happy and laughing, and it really feels
01:10worthwhile.
01:11It's starting to look amazing, isn't it?
01:13Oh, it's just spectacular. Yeah, we've had a drone up. Somebody's very kindly put a drone
01:17up, and the footage that's coming off that is just exceptional.
01:21Neil Frith, and I'm from the Staffordshire Free from Tamworth.
01:25So, how come that you're in Skegness helping with the poverty display?
01:31So, I know Tracey from Royal British Legion as well, and she's kindly put the three lads
01:42that I serve with, and that I'm raising funds for a memorial for, on one of the nets.
01:49And somebody who lost their lives in action, is that right?
01:53Yeah, so three lads lost their lives on the 16th of July 2005 in a roadside bomber attack
02:00in Iraq. Second Lieutenant Richard Shearer, Private Philip Hewitt, and Private Leon Spicer.
02:08So, what has it meant to you to be here tonight?
02:12It means a lot to see the community coming out, to see that it's already on Facebook
02:19before, obviously before Tracey and the team wanted it on there, but to see this coming
02:26to life after following it on Facebook for so long, seeing the nets grow in the shop
02:32where all the poppies have come from, to say it's a community project is an understatement.
02:37This is a world project from so many countries. It is amazing. The team have done a fantastic job.
02:44Hiya, I'm Toya. I live in Skegness. I've been helping at the poppy shop every Friday and most Sundays.
02:55So now we're just tying on the last few poppies.
02:59Yeah, I mean it looked amazing in the poppy shop, didn't it?
03:03But what's it like being part of this special night?
03:08It's absolutely amazing, to be honest. It's quite unbelievable how many people have come together
03:13and just sort of dug in and really helped out. It's been great.
03:24Tracey, you've been keeping a keen eye on all the volunteers tonight. How are you thinking it's looking?
03:31Amazing. It's so emotional. We've brought to fruition months and months of work and it's speechless, actually.
03:40And people that know me know that that's a very rare occasion. It just looks stunning. It really does look stunning.
03:47I mean, it's thousands of hours of work by the people who've been making the poppies
03:53and all the thousands that's made them as well. It's massive effort, isn't it?
03:58Absolutely. A huge community effort and every single poppy that we've had in is somewhere on that display.
04:06Absolutely every single one of them.
04:11We've got Lou here, who is Secretary of the Skegness branch of the Royal British Legion.
04:15You've been keeping everybody topped up with coffees and refreshments all evening, haven't you?
04:20Very important job.
04:22Very important job.
04:23How do you think it's looking?
04:25Absolutely beyond words. I mean, visualising them where they were lifted up on those risers,
04:32you really couldn't realise until you're standing in so far away.
04:36And because of the way it slopes up and the riser, it just looks amazing.
04:41No, and it's so nice to see the clock tower all lit up red as well.
04:45I know, that was a nice touch. That was a really nice touch.
04:49But you can't wait to see it in daylight as well.
04:51I can't wait.
04:52Now we have Molly here, who is Tracy's daughter.
04:56This has been a bit of a project for your mum, hasn't it?
04:59Yeah.
05:00Has she been driving you mad?
05:01Yeah.
05:02Which she's been ordering us all about tonight.
05:05But now it's nearly finished, what do you think to it?
05:10It's absolutely amazing. It's great to see how the community has come together as one
05:15and how all the team have just come together and put it up together tonight.
05:20It's absolutely amazing.
05:21Do you think she's going to be happy when she gets home?
05:23Yeah, she'll be so proud.
05:27Now there's been quite a few people leaving the embassy tonight
05:31who are stopping to have a look at the display.
05:34What do you think to it?
05:35It's marvellous. It's strange.
05:37I looked and thought, what's going on?
05:39And I thought, oh, they're dressing up ready for remembrance.
05:42So it's an important thing for the whole country and people like myself,
05:45who's ex-RAF, to remember the people that didn't come back and gave their lives.
05:51So we could live like we are today.
05:53So it's much appreciated.
05:57Now there's one more question to ask you, and you are the lady who knows.
06:03How many poppies are on the display?
06:0937,082.
06:13Wow. That is unbelievable, isn't it?
06:17Yep. So somebody has won the hamper.
06:20I don't know who at the moment, but we'll find out tomorrow.