Page 41 - Oundle Life May 2024

The Longest Yarn is a project inspired by Tansy Forster who lives in Normandy, but who used to live in Oundle. It is a work of 80 separate one metre by fifty centimetre knitted/crocheted 3D panels that represent the Battle of Normandy. The display is being made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings in June.
Panels are being constructed around the world, and all 80 panels will be displayed in the Eglise Notre-Dame de Carentan from June to August. They will then be coming to the UK, and it is hoped that they will be exhibited in Peterborough Cathedral in 2025.
Tansy contacted Oundle Yarnbombers after seeing our yarn bombing in the town and asked if we would like to be involved. Of course, we said yes! She asked if we could make one of the panels that depicted a piper. We ended up with panel number 49, which was Lord Lovat and Piper Bill Millin relieving Pegasus Bridge. The reference for our panel was a photo from the film ‘The Longest Day’.
We had an ex-engineer on board to construct a model of the bridge, which was then covered in knitting. We only had patterns for the soldiers and rifles, so everything else had to be improvised.
Before our panel is shipped across to France, we wanted to share it with our local community. We held a fundraising event on 21st March at the Hub, Fletton House, to showcase our panel and also another one that was made locally by Lindy Kirk. Her panel depicts Landing Craft, Tank
LCT 7074 which landed on Gold Beach. We also made around 450 poppies, which were sewn into a cascade. This is going to France and will go on display in one of the shops in Carentan.
We were very lucky to have John Millin,
the son of Piper Millin, and his wife Dorrie
as guests of honour. John donated his father’s favourite jumper to the Longest Yarn project. We used some of the wool for the jacket of our knitted model of his father, and for the ladders at the side of Pegasus Bridge. John was also presented with a set of mini bagpipes made from the wool. John and his wife were piped into Fletton House by local piper Mick O’Leary. He played ‘Blue Bonnets Over The Border’ which is the song that his father piped on Pegasus Bridge.
Several veterans’ charities were invited and had information displays; our yarnbombers made knitted poppies and soldier keyrings to sell; and of course, we had homemade cakes and refreshments for sale. Oundle Primary School had their artwork on display from their project on D-day, and around 60 children came along to see us. It was wonderful to see the Hub such a hive of activity once again.
So, after a long, but amazing day, we said goodbye to both panels and our poppy cascade. Along with the 78 other panels, they will next be seen in Normandy for the 80th anniversary of the D-day landings. Oundle Yarnbombers are very honoured to have been part of this incredible project.
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THE LONGEST YARN