Remembrance Day: huge poppy measuring 90ft is carved onto Northumberland beach in tribute to fallen soldiers

Five hours of painstaking work has seen a touching and unique tribute added to a Northumberland beach in time for Remembrance Day. A group of volunteers have carved a 90ft poppy into the sand at Beadnall Bay in memory of fallen soldiers.

Retired doctor and beach artist Claire Eason led a team of 30 who used garden rakes to create the giant mural illuminated by the stunning sunset. Before the tide washed their work away, the volunteers stood in the centre of the poppy, known as the stigma, for a series of stunning overhead shots.

Claire hosted the event on Saturday, November 4 after a break in the weather allowed her and the volunteers to etch the design onto the sand. She said: “I’d wanted to do something big to mark Remembrance Day and I appealed for volunteers to help. The response was marvellous but the only thing letting us down was the weather.

“Every day we were going to do it the weather was awful but luckily we got a break and we seized our chance. The final design looked amazing and as the tide was starting to wash it away there was the most beautiful sunset. It was a unique experience and I am delighted and so grateful for the efforts of the volunteers.”

Claire mapped out the poppy design on her computer and then used stakes and string to form a grid on the beach to bring her design to life. A time-lapse video shows the volunteers sketching the petals in a concentric design while racing against the incoming tide.

Claire, 59, added: “The design only lasts until the next high tide, but it is all about enjoying the experience and taking some pictures, which you have forever. It’s also very poignant because the sense of things being impermanent reflects how fragile life is.”

Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a red poppy to honour soldiers who died in the line of duty - a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919.