For a century, there has been a factory that employs former military personnel making Remembrance Poppies, and they offer tours of the factory.
They’ve run tours for some years, but there’s now a new visitor centre that shows off the history of the Poppy Factory and how it was set up after WW1 to give work to injured soldiers.
The factory is based in Richmond upon Thames and now has 22 Production workers and two special wreath makers, currently making in excess of 124,000 wreaths, 450,000 crosses and symbols and 250 Royal and special wreaths.
During the factory tour, visitors are also given the chance to assemble your own poppy and take it home with you.
The tours are usually limited to organised groups, but they occasionally have tours for the general public, and three dates have been announced for those tours:
- Monday 25th April (2:30pm)
- Monday 30th May (11am and 2:30pm)
- Monday 25th July (2:30pm).
The tours cost £12 per person and can be booked from here – tip look for the ticket option for “individuals” otherwise the website will try to book you for a group tour.
The Poppy Factory is about a 15-minute walk from Richmond station in the town centre.
