Ghostly Tommies rise up in remembrance: Silhouettes of 6ft tall WWI soldiers emerge to mark 100 years since the end of the war
Rising like a ghost from the earth, the Tommy stands with head bowed and rifle in hand, a poppy adorning his chest.
This silhouette of a First World War soldier, 6ft tall and made from aluminium, has appeared in the village of Penshurst, Kent.
It is one of many that will be displayed across the country to mark 100 years since the end of the war and its overwhelming human cost.
The art installation, officially unveiled yesterday and called There But Not There, has seen the silhouettes appear in sentry boxes usually manned by Yeoman Warders at the Tower of London, and on the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.
The figures have also been displayed at Hearts Football Club in Edinburgh, seven of whose players lost their lives in the conflict, and the Big Pit National Coal Museum in Blaenavon, South Wales, to reflect the Welsh miners who enlisted.
Charities want community groups to buy similar scale silhouettes for local war memorials. The public will be able to buy ten-inch versions to remember their own relatives.
A poignant reminder of the 888,246 British and Commonwealth soldiers who died and of those who survived but suffered physical and mental scars, the silhouettes will tour the nation until Armistice Day to raise funds for a new charity called Remembered. The aim is to raise £15million for Armed Forces and mental health charities.
All the money raised will be shared evenly between The Royal Foundation: Heads Together, Walking With The Wounded, Combat Stress, Help for Heroes: Hidden Wounds, The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation and Project Equinox: Housing Veterans.
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