WEST Orchards shopping centre will fall silent on Armistice Day (Saturday, November 11) as 4,000 poppy petals will be dropped in a poignant service to remember those who served and died in conflicts across the world.
Armistice Day will be commemorated at the stroke of the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, with a two-minute silence.
The poppy drop will be the centrepiece of a moving service at the centre, which will begin at 10.45am, in the yellow corner of level 3.
There will then be an introductory speech from West Orchards’ Manager Andy Talbot and city Lord Mayor Coun Jaswant Singh Birdi.
This will be followed by prayers led by the Rev Richard Hibbert from Holy Trinity Church.
At 11am a bugler from the Coventry Corps of Drums will sound the Last Post to begin a two-minute silence, during which the poppy petals will be released from the shopping centre’s domed roof.
And to end the service, the British Legion will deliver the Exhortation and Kohima Epitaph in remembrance of those who lost their lives in battle.
West Orchards director Andy Talbot said: “The Poppy Appeal is vital to help pledge support for those who have fought for their country and served in the British Armed Forces.
“It remains a simple yet powerful service in which shoppers and visitors to the city can pause for thought to remember anyone who fought and gave their lives in battle, whether the First and Second World Wars or indeed in recent and continuing conflicts.”
