Part of Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, an art installation at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester

© Christopher Furlong/Getty Image

Armistice Day, 100 years later. Lest we forget

This is part of the art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which was placed in the moat of the Tower of London in 2014 to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of World War I. Created by Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, it was crafted of 888,246 ceramic poppies – each one representing a British or colonial soldier who died during the conflict. Since 2015, two parts of the iconic installation, Wave and Weeping Willow, have been on tour at various locations around the UK, where the sculptures have been seen by over four million people. Wave, a sweeping arch of bright red poppy heads suspended on towering stalks, is making its last stop at the Imperial War Museum North in Manchester, which is where our image was photographed. The poppies will be on display outside the museum until later this month, when they will become part of the permanent collection. We’re showing it today to honour Armistice Day, the day exactly 100 years ago when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice that ended the war.