Cheshire Military Museum and the Donkey Breed Society’s Purple Poppies Exhibition highlight the role of animals in war for Remembrance Day
Cheshire Military Museum and the Donkey Breed Society’s Purple Poppies Exhibition highlight the role of animals in war for Remembrance Day
Cascading purple poppies commemorating the role played by animals in war have gone on display with traditional red poppy highlights at Cheshire Military Museum from November 7th. The new temporary exhibition, including the purple poppies, honours the role animals and birds played in WWI and more recent conflicts. The Exhibition brings together stories of horses, donkeys, mules, dogs and pigeons through writings, poetry, artwork and artefacts.
The museum in Castle Square, Chester will host the purple ‘Richmond Poppies’ made by crafters in Richmond Yorkshire and mounted on Army camouflage netting from Catterick, alongside other items, until January as part of a collection organised and on loan to Cheshire Military Museum by the Northern Region of the Donkey Breed Society. This is the final leg of the collection’s 2024 tour of three military museums in the north including York Army Museum and Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life. In January 2025, the display moves to The Green Howards Museum in Richmond, North Yorkshire.
The crocheted purple poppies were created to highlight the contributions of animals and birds in war and peacekeeping activities. They were gifted to the Northern Region of the Donkey Breed Society and are now to be seen by a wider audience.
Sarah Booth, Secretary of the Northern Region of The Donkey Breed Society said; “‘We are honouring in this exhibition at Chester, the estimated 16 million animals that took part in World War I. Their versatility, adaptability and bravery were astonishing. Animals were also used in WWII. In more recent conflicts, explosives detection and search and rescue dogs have also been deployed. We work closely with the War Horse Memorial Organisation and are so pleased that Chester Military Museum is hosting our collection as part of ‘Purple Poppies: Animals in War’.”
Preparations for the exhibition have involved a visit to a school as far away as Alsager in Cheshire. Missy the donkey visited Alsager Highfields Primary School so that pupils could learn about animals in war and the roles they played. Missy’s owner is from the Northern Region of the Donkey Breed Society.
Caroline Chamberlain, Curator of Cheshire Military Museum added; “Alongside Sarah, we have been collecting some amazing anecdotes, shared by the public, and building an interesting picture of the bravery displayed by animals in war. We have been working on this new exhibition for some time and it is fantastic to see it come to life with contributions from many supporters. We thank them and would encourage everyone to come and find out more about the roles played by these animals and others and why it is so important that we remember the sacrifices that were made. Animals and birds had no choice in whether they went to serve their country.“
The Exhibition runs through November and December and can be visited Thursday to Sunday. On Saturday 16th November, from 12.00 noon, there will be donkeys at the Museum and a day of activities for families.
Special knitting and crochet Poppy Kits will be available in the museum shop for everyone to create their own poppies.
The UK officially acknowledges International War Animal Day on February 24.
Together with War Horse Memorial in the UK www.thewarhorsememorial.org and groups in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America, the Donkey Breed Society commemorates the amazing and often extremely harrowing roles that animals have played.
More information: https://donkeybreedsociety.co.uk
Sarah Booth, Northern Region Secretary, Contact for linked projects with WHMO, Donkey Breed Society UK.
Email: northerndonks@gmail.com
The Cheshire Military Museum in Chester tells the story of Cheshire military personnel from the 17th Century to the present day. The museum also houses the Archive of the Cheshire Regiment. Schools and college visits are welcome, with a full programme of visits tailored to make it an exciting and thought-provoking experience using hands-on displays and artifacts.
More information at https://cheshiremilitarymuseum.org.uk/
Telephone: 01244 327617
e-mail: cheshiremilitarymuseum@outlook.com
Press contact: jane@marketingprojects.co.uk
CHESHIRE MILITARY MUSEUM The Castle, CHESTER CH1 2DN
Registered Charity No: 272108
