Weeping Window, Poppies sculpture, Imperial War Museum

Back in 2014, over five million people came from far and wide to see Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, a poignant cascade of thousands of handmade ceramic poppies flooding the moat of the Tower of London – each one representing a British or Colonial life lost during the First World War. The installation by artist Paul Cummins and stage designer Tom Piper commemorated one hundred years since the beginning of World War One and has since toured to nineteen locations across the UK as part of the 14-18 NOW project.

The tour concludes this autumn in London, where the poppies will return home to the Imperial War Museum just in time to mark the centenary of Armistice Day. In Weeping Window, poppies stream down from the Sydney Smirke’s towering copper dome, in poignant dialogue with the monumental naval guns stationed in the museum's forecourt.

Once you’ve taken in Weeping Window, head inside to see Poppies: Reflections, a photographic exhibition by Ellie Kurttz and Gideon Mendel charting the poppies’ four-year tour. The recently renovated First World War galleries also merit a visit, providing an educational insight into the devastating social, political and human history of this international conflict. There are plenty of immersive and child-friendly displays, too. Until March 2019, the Imperial War Museum will host Making a New World, a season of exhibitions, installations and events exploring post-War Britain.

Whether this is your first time seeing the poppies or you want to revisit the spectacle, this is your last chance to experience the moving and powerful Weeping Window.

Anna Ellis-Rees