The Poppy Factory

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Stories from The Poppy Factory in Surrey, where poppies are made for Remembrance Sunday.

Chris Ledgard explores the how, for decades, former servicemen and women have made poppies for Remembrance Sunday. From 2011.

Chris Ledgard explores the story of The Poppy Factory where, former members of the armed forces have made millions of poppies and wreaths for Remembrance Sunday.

In 1922, Major George Howson, the founder of the Disabled Society, wrote to his parents: 

"I have been given a cheque for £2,000 to make poppies with. It is a large responsibility and will be very difficult. If the experiment is successful it will be the start of an industry to emply 150 men. I do not think it can be a great success, but it is worth doing."

Major Howson's pessimism was short-lived. His workforce grew rapidly and, a few years later, The Poppy Factory had to move from London’s Old Kent Road to bigger premises in Richmond, Surrey. Soon, more than 350 men had jobs there.

The factory is still in the same place and still staffed by former servicemen and women and their dependents, some of whom are coping with stress disorders. Chris Ledgard discovers the remarkable history and the story of workers also making them at home. 

How is the charity coping with a dwindling workforce and a shift to mechanised production? 

And discover how money raised from selling the poppies is being used. 

Producer: Chris Ledgard

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in November 2011.

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