Criccieth Gown of Poppies

Criccieth’s Gown of Poppies is on display in the Senedd building during November. The Gown was created in 2020 during the pandemic following the Town Council's appeal for volunteers to help "paint the town red" by knitting and crocheting poppies.

The project inspired local resident Susan Humphries to create a Poppy Dress, and the 5,000 poppies made by over 150 volunteers became the train for the dress. Susan said:

“Creating the poppy dress, inspired by the community project, kept me going through most of the lockdown. The train of community poppies is really something special.”

The exhibition, which is sponsored by the Minister for Health and Social Services Eluned Morgan MS, will run from 2 November to 29 November to coincide with the annual period of remembrance to commemorate those lost during the two World Wars. Liz Saville Roberts, MP said

“The woman is a symbol of the loss suffered by the whole community. Dressed in a gown of poppies, she is wrapped in the grief that so many women have had to endure."

The Gown of Poppies was part of an exhibition in the shops on the High Street which ran for months in lockdown, featured on S4C and the BBC nationwide and had a major and global impact online. It contributed to Criccieth Town Council’s success in winning a Creative Lives National Award 2021.

Reflecting on the Gown, poet and musician Gwyneth Glyn who lives in Criccieth said

"I remember the first time I saw the iconic red dress on display in the window of Siop yr Eifion on Criccieth high street. I stood still, amazed! She was a symbol of love, of loss, but also of strength. I saw it afterwards, displayed in the Memorial Hall, and its significance was even more poignant in the context of 'the pain of losing the boys'. There’s more than knitted poppies woven into the dress; indeed, the dress itself has knitted us, the women of Criccieth, closer to each other, and closer to the women of yesterday and today in their loss and their strength."

According to Cllr. Sian Williams, Chair of the Town Council -

"This wonderful Gown with international appeal is symbolic of loss and it deserves a national platform. It is a privilege to be able to display at the Senedd building for this year's Remembrance. It's fantastic to see the Gown come to life with Gwyneth Glyn wearing it on Criccieth beach."

Photographs by Andrew Kime at Criccieth Memorial Hall–
Photograph of Gwyneth Glyn wearing the Gown of Poppies by Terry Mills.