Canterbury Branch remembers animals in war and in need.  The ladies of the Branch knitted the giant poppy wreath pinned to the wooden horse.

A message from Canterbury Cathedral:

We feel so honoured and blessed that The Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis conducted a service of commemoration in the shadows of our giant Canterbury Horse to remember animals in war and animals in need. It was ahead of today’s first National Animal Day and was organised by our wonderful Ambassador for Kent, John Bishop. He was joined by other members of the Canterbury Branch of the Royal Artillery Association( RAA), Peter Hughes, Douglas Kay, Dennis Gabb and Joe Correa and wives and partners. John tells us a vote of thanks to the Cathedral is in order especially to Emma Clarke (events) and the Dean and Canon Treasurer, The Reverend Andrew Dodd, who were happy to support at short notice. “ I also want to thank the ladies of the Branch for the giant knitted purple poppy wreath, which they made by sewing together dozens of small poppies they had made. It was a windy day but we managed to pin the wreath on our majestic wooden horse. Over eight million horses died during WW1, of which many travelled through Kent on their way to the continent, so we feel this service of Commemoration was very apt and fitting."  

The Canterbury Horse was created as a result of a partnership between Canterbury School of Visual Arts at Canterbury College and Canterbury Cathedral, and collaborative working between students, academics and the technical and engineering departments. It has been gifted to War Horse Memorial and we have big plans to include it in our future campaigns.