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The Poetry Plane 2025 – The Plan, Thiepval


Chris Hartford

The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The Plan, Thiepval

The Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval is an Anglo French Monument to those who died at the Battle of the Somme. The French launched their own offensive to the south of the River Somme at the same time. There are over 72000 names of the missing from Britain and South Africa inscribed on the lower supports of the monument.  Those missing in the Battle from Australia, New Zealand and Canada are recorded in their own National Memorials. The Thiepval Memorial which towers over the surrounding Somme landscape was designed by Edward Lutyens and built 1928-1932. It took some time to come into being as there was considerable debate about the scale of structure needed to reflect the enormity of the sacrifice.

The first day of the Battle was a disaster with over 56000 dead, wounded and missing – a figure that seems unbelievable today.  It was preceded by a 7-day artillery bombardment expected to clear paths through the minefields and wire obstacles and destroy the enemy in their trenches.  It did not work and merely signalled the allied intent so the Germans were forewarned.  It churned up the ground and did not remove the wire obstacles as expected. The result was the enormous loss of life on the first day. The Germans tenaciously held on to Thiepval, the first day objective, for 3 months till the end of September 1916. As winter approached, the Germans retreated to the newly prepared Hindenburg Line but there was more fighting over the Somme Battlefields when the Germans launched their Spring Offensive on 21 March 1918. The names on the Memorial include those who died at the Somme up to this date.

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane

The Poetry Plane 2025 – The People -Sally Crabtree



The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The People – Sally Crabtree

Sally Crabtree was once a world class gymnast, winning a scholarship to train in the USSR at the age of 14, before going on to become the youngest ever member of the GB Women’s gymnastics team, performing around the world. Since then, she has been turning the poetry world upside down with her cartwheeling poems and colourful, quirky performances, interactive installations and projects that inspire whole communities to get involved and discover the poetic heart within themselves.

She is an official Ambassador for National Poetry Day “You advocate beautifully for poetry every single day” (Director) and has been poet in residence for the Matisse Museum in France as well as being invited to deliver creative ‘boosts’ to staff at Spotify’s HQ in Sweden. She writes and design children’s books and as the Creative Director of Artconnexion UK, she devises and delivers award winning creative literacy projects internationally. The latest of theses has been Poetry Postie – delivering poetic inspiration to the Nation and beyond, including to the United Nations. As the originator of the Poetry Plane concept, she is now able to deliver the post via airmail!

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane

The Poetry Plane 2025 – The Planes – Air Clearances



The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The Planes – The Clearances

Dropping any thing from an aeroplane is regarded as an aerial event in UK and Europe. In UK, you apply to the General  Aviation Department of the Civil Aviation having secured the agreement of the site.  In France, the process starts by circulating a similar form with site agreement to the local mayor who seeks the agreement of the District  and Regional offices (Sous-Prefeture and Prefeture).  It is then forwarded to the DGAC (the French equivalent to the CAA and issued through their regional office – DSAC N in this instance. Once this is approved, an approval for flight in French airspace is given (laisser passer) and the final step is to seek approval for flight of an aircraft in military markings. The approval process takes 4 months. The Trust would like to thank all the officials involved in this process for Lochnagar and Thiepval,  and those approving the Le Quesnoy drop, for their help and support.

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-0

The Poetry Plane 2025 – The Plan, The Lochnagar Crater



The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The Plan – Lochnagar Crater

The Lochnagar Crater was created by the detonation of 27200kg of explosive laid by British Tunnelling Companies to destroy German dugout defences at the start of the Battle of the Somme. The mine was 313m long and dug in silence as German defensive mines were dug to listen and, if possible, destroy allied mines. The Crater is one of 17 detonated as the Battle began.  By the end of this dreadful day, 56000 allied troops were dead or wounded. The Crater is over 100m across and now owned by a British man, Richard Dunning, who bought the land ~ 50 years ago to prevent it being filled in.  Every year at 0728 on 1 July whistles are blown and a rocket fired at the start of a  commemoration to mark the lives lost in 1916.  In 2024, a WW1 AHT aircraft dropped poems written by British, French and German children at the end of the ceremony which we seek to drop again on 1 July 2025.

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-0

The Poetry Plane 2025 – The People – Dick Forsythe




The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The People – Dick Forsythe

Dick is the Chief Trustee of the WW1 Aviation Heritage Trust and responsible for the latest spate of posts about the Poetry Plane. The Trust was formed out of a chance meeting at TVAL in Wellington, NZ, by him in 2013. He is a 3rd generation aviator stretching back in an unbroken line from his retirement in 2002 to his grandfather in the RNAS in 1915.  All 3 generations were pilots from Bristol Fighter, Lancasters/Canberra, to helicopters from Whirlwind to Chinook.  His father and grandfather won DFCs in their respective Wars, and both commanded No 16 Squadron.  Dick commanded 240 OCU and set up and ran the aircrew training for the Chinook when it came into service.  The Trust came out of nowhere but it has been an absolute privilege to direct its progress for its first 10 years

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-0

The Poetry Plane 2025 – The Planes, The Tiger Moth Today



Roger Freeman Collection


The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The Planes – The Tiger Moth Today

The secondary aircraft that will on standby to drop the poems is a 1944 Morris Motors built Tiger Moth (serial 86500). The aircraft was previously last flown in France in 1969 before being moved to storage in England. It has been painstakingly restored since 2021 by the current owners and returned to flight in July 2022 on an LAA Permit. G-BTOG is painted in a unique WWII USAAF paint scheme representing one of a handful of Tiger Moths loaned to the USAAF as a communications aircraft. It has been restored with Gosport tubes, navigation lights and blind flying hood, as well as a discreet modern Trig radio and transponder.

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-0

Poetry Plane 2025 – The Plan, The Forget-Me-Not



Roger Freeman Collection


The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The Plan, The Forget-Me-Not

The Forget-Me-Not flower itself  signifies memories, love and loyalty. Reference to it can be found as far back as Henry IV who adopted it as an emblem and subsequently in Victorian times immortalised by Coleridge. The story of the Forget-Me-Not as the Flower of Remembrance of Germany is not clear cut and interwoven with the difficult history of the two World Wars in the twentieth century.  In 1951, the National Day of Mourning was reintroduced in Germany as an occasion to remember all victims of war and strife with the Forget-Me-Not as a symbol of remembrance.  This was reconfirmed by the German Embassy in London in 2015 by a post on Twitter (now X) which reflects the uncertainty about its selection.

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-20

Poetry Plane 2025 – The People, The Twins



Roger Freeman Collection


The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The People, The Twins

For those familiar with the WW1 air show circuit the Twins, Ant and Ed Abery, are a permanent feature.  The Trust is eternally grateful for all their support as it keeps the Trust prominent in the WW1 aeroplane scene. They travel to wherever our aircraft go in England and occasionally to Northern France as they will do on 1 Jul 25 for the Somme Commemorations and at Le Quesnoy to commemorate the liberation of that fortified town by the Kiwi Division. 

They move, refuel and prop-swing the aircraft and in between they set up and run our WW1 VR SE5a simulator or Rocking Nacelle to give it its original name. Flying a Mission in the Simulator gives the public a very realistic experience of WW aerial combat.   This involves the Twins deploying most weekends during the season if not to air shows, then to the myriad of events in Essex – Open Farm Sunday at Tiptree and the Burnham Kite festival to name two. They also enjoy attending a series of Christmas activities  as Father Christmas and Elf inviting donations for WW1 AHT.

All that may sound a lot, but the Trust has been visiting primary schools in Essex with a day-long STEM Simulator visit once a week in term time.  We have visited nearly one hundred schools since 2022 mostly funded by a Government grant. The Twins have delivered the Rocking nacelle In its trailer to every visit. We are self-funding 15 visits in the first half of 2022 while we seek funding from the NLHF for the next few years. The WW1 poems written by the School children as part of each visit will be dropped at the Commemorations in July

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-20

Poetry Plane 2025 – The Planes, Tiger Moth 1944



Roger Freeman Collection


The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The Planes, The Tiger Moth 1944

Tiger Moth 1943

The Tiger Moth (serial 86500) was built in 1944 by the car company, Morris Motors, for the RAF and numbered NM192. However, the war ended before it could enter service and it was then purchased by the French Air Force in 1946. In 1951, it was demobilised as a military aircraft and sold to a French flying school, the Aero Club de Saintonge et d’Aunis, with the civilian registration F-BGCJ. The aircraft eventually became derelict but remained in France.

In 1972 it was repatriated to the UK as a project for potential conversion to resemble a Curtiss Jenny for a film. The film was never made, however, and so the aircraft remained in storage in the UK until 2021 when it was acquired by its current owners and rebuilt to flying condition. It flew again in 2022. A unique feature of the aircraft is its Gipsy Major 1C engine which was factory new when bought by the current owners. This had been acquired in its original shipping crate from Argentina where it had been in storage since the late 1940s. 

It now wears the military markings as DE745. In 1944, DE745 (Dorothy)  was used as a communications aircraft by 353 Fighter Gp but was written off collecting a P51 Pilot who had himself crash-landed. 

 

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-20

Poetry Plane 2025 – The Plan, Le Bleuet

Paul Castelnau , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Poilus







Collection personnelle, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Poilu

The Poetry Plane is about Remembrance – Lest We Forget.

Children from around the World will be writing poems in recognition of the sacrifice of the Great War, The poem papers will be seeded with  Memorial Flowers – the Poppy, the Cornflower and the Forget-Me-Not. We will be making 3 drops of poems written by children from around the World on 1 July 2025 at the Great War Somme Commemorations at Lochnagar Crater and Thiepval Memorial and at the Kiwi Memorial in Le Quesnoy.  We also hope to drop poems at the Remembrance Service at the UK National Memorial Arboretum on 9 November 2025. I will be explaining the Plan, the Planes, the People and your Part in the Programme over the next 3 months. 

Help us build a network to pass the word on. We seek to make the Poetry Plane an annual global act of Remembrance.

Where ever you are in the World, you have a part to play – pass the details of the Poetry Plane on or get involved. To School Teachers particularly, this programme is massively popular with children. You can get guidance, lesson plans, and poem paper at the links below.  If you have a question, contact

 info@ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk. 

The Plan, The Bleuet

Le Bleuet or the Cornflower signals purity and innocence.  Les Bleuets  continued to grow in abundance on the battlefields of N France ruined by artillery fire in WW1. In a landscape ravaged by war they represented life and hope. The French soldiers or poilus recruited after 1915 wore blue uniforms also became known as Les Bleuets breaking from the red trousers that had been a tradition since Napoleonic times.  The Cornflower was adopted as the Memorial flower of France formally in 1928 and used to raise money for the veterans on 11 November and  from 1957 VE Day on 8 May was added as a day of commemoration

Want to know more? Want to join in?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/ww1-poetry-registration/

Buy Poem Paper?

https://roamwildproducts.co.uk/collections/seeded-paper/products/roamwild-seeded-paper

Download Lesson Plan, Video and Slideshow?

https://ww1aviationheritagetrust.co.uk/poetry-temporary-landing-page/

Help us fund the project.

https://wwoneaviationheritage.enthuse.com/cf/the-poetry-plane-20