St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall, Orkney was the first venue in Scotland to host Poppies: Weeping Window, installed on the Cathedral’s west end.
A cascade comprising several thousand handmade ceramic poppies, Poppies: Weeping Window was originally seen pouring from a high window to the ground below at the Tower of London as part of the installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red.
Orkney was the home of the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet, and on 31 May 2016 Orkney hosted the official commemoration for the Battle of Jutland, the largest and most decisive naval battle of the First World War which was fought at the cost of over 8,000 lives.
On the 5 June 2016 events took place to commemorate the loss of HMS Hampshire which was sunk by a mine West of Orkney. 737 men lost their lives including the Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener whose image appeared on the now famous ‘Your Country Needs You’ recruitment poster. Events included a re-dedication of the Kitchener Memorial and the unveiling of a commemorative wall with the names of all those lost on the Hampshire.
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Wave and Weeping Window are from the installation ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ – poppies and original concept by artist Paul Cummins and installation designed by Tom Piper – by Paul Cummins Ceramics Limited in conjunction with Historic Royal Palaces, originally at HM Tower of London 2014.
