SWLNcross - By Douglas Whitbread This incredible time-lapse video shows Royal British Legion volunteers planting 3,460 unnamed crosses in a touching tribute to fallen servicemen. The display, put up in Burnley Peace Garden, Lancs., took a team of ten volunteers two days to complete and will serve as a focal point for remembrance day reflections. Organiser Sgt. Lee Hargreaves, 34, an RAF regiment gunner, said when the display was first created, each cross represented a local serviceman who had died in WW1. But during the subsequent years, volunteers had decided to leave the crosses unnamed as a way to pay their respect to fallen soldiers from every era. The impressive memorial also features 1,800 knitted poppies, which border the meticulously planned out garden tribute. Lee said: “We think close to 5000 people have died in service to the country from the borough of Burnley since 1914. “This is now a story in keeping with the tomb of the unknown warrior, who has their grave in Westminster. “We incorporated the ‘1914-2022’ years into the design to show that we’re remembering everybody from those periods. "In total, it took about 11 hours over two days between ten people to compete it." Lee said he felt remembrance day should be both about reflecting on those who’ve passed away and others still suffering the consequences of active service. He added: “We’re trying to bring remembrance into the modern day. I think people still assume a lot is to do with historical wars. But we lost 454 in Afghanistan in recent years. “It’s important that we reflect and take time to remember those who’ve given so much, and we concentrate on people who’ve sadly paid the ultimate price and passed away. “But there are many people, including friends of mine who’ve come back, and although they’re here in body, there’s a lot of post-traumatic stress, mental health issues associated with that. “All I’m trying to do is raise a bit of awareness and get into school and talk to people about it – and try to explain what the act of remembrance is about.” ENDS
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