An ambitious project by the animal charity Murphy’s Army was unveiled on Friday, October 11 when the Featherstone War Horse was dressed in a crocheted coat of some 4,000 purple poppies.

Members of the public, Murphy’s Army volunteers, Featherstone town councillors, the Mayor of Featherstone, and representatives from both West Yorkshire Police and the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) attended to mark the occasion.

The project was co-ordinated by Murphy’s Army founder Bev Alderson over the past few months, who hand-sewed each poppy onto the coat which had been sent to her by volunteers who crocheted them. Volunteers used a spider lift from Bradford-based Andrew’s Access to dress the horse in sections.

Speaking about the origins of the project, Bev Alderson said: “For the past three years we have dressed the Horsforth Horse statue in Leeds which has received superb feedback. We were aware of the Featherstone War Horse and thought what a wonderful way it would be to raise awareness of the purple poppy, and its significance as a symbol of remembrance for animals. We are extremely grateful to Featherstone Town Council for giving us permission and hope that the coat will be used for many years to come.”

The Mayor of Featherstone, local councillors and representatives from the KOYLI Association were some of those who attended the unveiling of Operation Joey, a joint project between the town council and Murphy's Army to create a coat of purple poppies for the War Horse Memorial in Mill Pond Meadow, Featherstone.

placeholder image — The Mayor of Featherstone, local councillors and representatives from the KOYLI Association were some of those who attended the unveiling of Operation Joey, a joint project between the town council and Murphy's Army to create a coat of purple poppies for the War Horse Memorial in Mill Pond Meadow, Featherstone.

353 red poppies have been included in the coat to commemorate the Featherstone soldiers who died in the First World War.

Speaking about the importance of remembering the work of service animals, Pui Ling Ma, a Murphy’s Army trustee, said: “It’s really quite important to educate the next generation about the involvement of animals in conflict and in war, because it’s quite often forgotten about. Not a lot of people know actually how many animals were actually involved in all of the wars that have happened previously.”

Paul Lawrence, deputy Lieutenant at West Yorkshire Lieutenancy, said: “I think it’s absolutely amazing. Thinking about the fact that it’s a memorial to all the animals that have been in service [...] this is a nice way of remembering the animals that served.”

Murphy’s Army has estimated around 1,200 hours have been spent creating the coat, which consists of nearly 4,000 poppies.