An interactive ‘Centenary Poppy Sculpture’ was unveiled at the Kirkgate shopping centre in Bradford yesterday morning.

The event was marked by a service, to commemorate 100 years since the outbreak of World War One.

At 11am the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Cllr Mike Gibbons, and Lady Mayoress, Elizabeth Sharp, placed the first poppies on the sculpture and invited everyone to join them in the interactive act of remembrance. People can buy a commemorative poppy from the customer services desk and add their own message before placing it on the sculpture. All donations go direct to the Bradford branch of the Royal British Legion.

The sculpture has space for up to 3,000 poppies and was created by the award-winning artist Mark Humphrey.

He said “I wanted to create a low cost, easy to install commemoration sculpture that brings home to the public the great sacrifices that were made 100 years ago.

"The sculpture will inspire the community to mark the centenary of World War One. It will create a space for the public to reflect and remember those solders who lost their lives not just then but as a result more recent conflict.”

As part of the service children from the Stage 84 school of performing arts performed war poems and songs. Catherine Riley, Centre Manager, said “It was incredibly poignant to hear the words of the young soldiers of 100 years ago spoken by the young people of today and there were a few tears shed by shoppers who stopped to listen and were mesmerised.”