Purple poppy coat unveiled at War Horse memorial to commemorate service animals for remembrance day

Watch the moving moment when volunteers dressed a memorial statue in a beautiful coat of purple poppies - which was crocheted by hand. In the video (click to play above), helpers can be seen standing on a raised platform as they drape the gorgeous hand-sewn garment over the giant sculpture.

The project was co-ordinated by animal charity, Murphy’s Army. Founder, Bev Alderson, hand-sewed each poppy onto the coat which had been sent to her by volunteers who crocheted them. Speaking about the origins of the project, Bev Alderson said: “For the past three years we have dressed the Horsforth Horse statue in Leeds which has received superb feedback. We were aware of the Featherstone War Horse and thought what a wonderful way it would be to raise awareness of the purple poppy, and its significance as a symbol of remembrance for animals. We are extremely grateful to Featherstone Town Council for giving us permission and hope that the coat will be used for many years to come.”

353 red poppies have been included in the coat to commemorate the Featherstone soldiers who died in the First World War.

Speaking about the importance of remembering the work of service animals, Pui Ling Ma, a Murphy’s Army trustee, said: “It’s really quite important to educate the next generation about the involvement of animals in conflict and in war, because it’s quite often forgotten about. Not a lot of people know actually how many animals were actually involved in all of the wars that have happened previously.”

Paul Lawrence, deputy Lieutenant at West Yorkshire Lieutenancy, said: “I think it’s absolutely amazing. Thinking about the fact that it’s a memorial to all the animals that have been in service [...] this is a nice way of remembering the animals that served.”

Murphy’s Army has estimated around 1,200 hours have been spent creating the coat, which consists of nearly 4,000 poppies.