Pat’s poppies perfect for Remembrance days at Brendoncare St Giles View

Creator of the flag is Pat Hansford, a 97-year-old resident at the care home, but it has been very much a team effort. Pat was helped by her two daughters and members of the Brendoncare St Giles View team.

So far, Pat and her helpers have knitted and assembled more than 200 poppies. They appear on both the flag and are also on sale as poppy brooches at the care home. Pat told us all the proceeds will go to the Haig Fund which we now know as the Poppy Appeal.

This is not the first time Pat’s poppies have gone on display at Brendoncare St Giles View. They were also made into a garden floral tribute to mark D-Day on 6th June.

Tribute:

This was a very personal tribute for Pat, who is Winchester born and bred. Her late husband Charles was a Royal Naval rating who saw action in the D-Day Normandy landings.

However, the St Giles View team gave Pat the idea for the Remembrance Day poppy project which she was glad to accept. She started buying wool for it back in July.

Everyone at the care home is delighted with the results of her amazing work. Nadine Lloyd, wellbeing coordinator at Brendoncare St Giles View, who helped with the project, said: “Pat really is an inspiration to us all here with her incredible poppies. Her wonderful flag is now on display in our café throughout the week of Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day.”

Pat’s poppies have been a hit in the media. They have appeared in Care Home Magazine, The Carer, the Mid Hants Observer and the Hampshire Chronicle. She was also interviewed on That’s TV, Hampshire.

She is now waiting for someone at St Giles View to suggest another knitting project idea to see her into 2025!