"Collateral Damage" is a project to honour the victims of wars during and since World War One.  

In 2018 we commemorated 100 years since the end of World War I. Since then, around 200 million people have died in wars and there have been many, many other victims.  

The Collateral Damage Project is a community art project of unique textile poppies created to honour any or these victims. Individuals and community groups responded by making over 5,000 unique hand-made poppies, knitting, sewing, felting or in other forms of textile.

You can watch a short video about the project here. 

Many of the poppies honour particular victims of war and have labels attached. They include people killed, maimed or traumatised, whether they were in armed services, civilian "collateral damage" (as non-military victims are often referred to), conscientious objectors, peacebuilders, or people who have lost family, home or country. They may also be animals, trees, particular places, and some of them mourn more general damage to the environment, truth etc. 

The project offers opportunities to heal, remember and reconcile. It was particularly moving to have refugee groups and people from all over the world add their own poppies and labels when they saw the exhibition in place. 

Over 4,000 poppies were displayed in an installation at Friends House in London in autumn 2018, and many others were on show elsewhere in the country. Photos and details are available on our Facebook page @whitepoppies2018. 


Five large panels of poppies mounted on cloth are currently available on loan for display during the first half of 2018. Later this year we expect the poppies to be available for people who would like to use them to make wreaths, or for other suitable purposes. If you would like some poppies, please contact collateraldamage2018@gmail.com. 
 

History

Collateral Damage project started out in 2017 focusing on victims of the arms trade and was first exhibited at Art the Arms Fair in September 2017. British taxpayers subsidise arms exports through our taxes, including sales to regimes that have poor records on human rights, and which are actively engaged in warfare. For more information see https://www.caat.org.uk

Supporters

Groups who participated in this project have included the following:

Abakhan Liverpool store customers  
Anonymous refugee groups
Art the Arms Fair 
Bewdley Quaker Meeting, Worcestershire 
Bideford Quaker Meeting 
Bolton Quakers
Brentford and Isleworth Quaker Meeting
Brighton Quakers  
Cambridge Quakers 
Canterbury Quaker Meeting 
Chelmsford Quakers
Churches Together in Hitchin
Clacton Quaker Meeting 
Community of Christ
Croydon Quakers
Denford craft group
Disley Quakers 
Dorchester Quakers
Dumfries Quakers
East Garston Quakers
Edinburgh Quaker Meeting
Elys of Wimbledon knitting group
Exeter Quakers
The Fabric Shop, Whitstable
Fellowship of Reconciliation 
Folkestone Quaker Meeting 
Friends House Hospitality
Friends World Committee for Consultation
Griffithstown Congregational Church,  Griffithstown, Pontypool, Torfaen, Wales
Grassington and District Peace Group
Hale Methodists
Hampstead Quakers 
Harrogate Quakers
Hartington Grove Quaker Meeting 
Hitchin Quaker Meeting
Hitchin Churches Together
Hereford Quakers
Hertford Baptist Church
Hertford Quakers
Hounslow Friends of Faith Interfaith knitting group
Huddersfield Quakers
Jesus Lane Quaker Meeting, Cambridge  
Independent Yemen Group
Inverness Quaker Meeting
Isle of Man Quakers
Kelvin Grove Quakers, Brisbane, Australia
Kendal Quaker meeting
Kingston and Wandsworth Quakers
Leek Quaker Meeting , Staffordshire
Mid Essex Quakers
Littlehampton Quaker Meeting 
Lockerbie craft group
Ludlow Quaker Meeting 
Lush (fresh handmade cosmetics)
Merton Library Service
Newcastle Quakers
New Milton Quaker meeting
Northamptonshire Quaker Area Meeting 
Notting Hill and Ealing School knitting club
Our Lady Immaculate & St Andrew RC Church in Hitchin
Peace Museum, Bradford 
Peace Pledge Union 
Penzance Quakers 
Pontefract Quakers 
Quaker Arts Network 
Quaker Centre Bookshop, London
Quäkerhous Germany 
Quakers in Britain
Quaker Service Memoril Trust
Rawden Quakers, Leeds
Second Pentland Brownies
South Manchester Quakers 
Southampton Quakers
Spalding Textile and Knitting Group
SPIDIR (Spiritual Directors network, Southwark Diocese)
Staffordshire Quakers
St Albans Quakers
St Austell Quakers
St Matthew’s Church, Cambridge craft group
St Peter’s Church, Harrogate
Sidcot Quaker Meeting, Winscombe
Stroud Quaker Meeting
Sunderland Quakers
Swarthmoor Hall 
Uttoxeter Quakers
War Resisters International 
Warwick Quaker Meeting
West Town School, West Chester, Pennsylvania, USA
Wilmslow Quakers (East Cheshire) 
Wimbledon Disarmament Coalition/CND
Wimbledon Quakers  
Wimbledon YMCA
Winchester Quakers
Women’s groups in different places
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Cornwall Branch
Worcestershire and Shropshire Quakers
Worthing Quaker Meeting
Worthing craft club.