Weeping Window at Middleport Pottery

On Monday last week we visited the '14-18 Now' Weeping Window of ceramic poppies at Middleport Pottery which stands on the Trent and Mersey Canal.

We had booked tickets for 11a.m. so arrived about 9.45a.m. at nearby Westport Lake.  We had a stroll around the lake and a coffee in their cafe when it opened at 10a.m.  

The stroll down the canal from Westport to Middleport takes no more than fifteen minutes. We arrived at the entrance about ten minutes early and were told to wander down to the canal side keeping to the left.  We went straight up to the poppies.

 
 In my mind I had thought that entrance would be strictly timed with only so many people allowed in at a time. Not so.  It was quite relaxed although I would think it was not so relaxed when busier at the weekend or late afternoons perhaps.

We stood for a while by the poppies just taking a few photos from either side and then taking a few moments to reflect on what the poppies meant before moving on to allow other people to move forward.  I wondered how many young men working at the pottery volunteered or were conscripted and how they fared.  How many young women from the pottery went to work in munitions factories and what sorrows and hardships would face those left behind.

It always upsets me that this generation lost so much.  I think of them as children running and playing, struggling at school or working at home with no idea what the future would hold for them and what horrors they would have to see and endure.

It is hard to imagine as we enjoy the freedoms of life today. All we can say is thank you and always remember their sacrifice.