LINE dancers, pensioners and knitting groups are among the scores of people keeping the ball rolling as part of a regional knitted poppies appeal.

Darlington Head of Steam Museum’s Sarah Goldsbrough is spearheading a campaign for the region to knit 2,236 poppies in remembrance of each North-East railwayman who died in The Great War.

So far almost 600 poppies have been donated and it is hoped that the appeal can create enough to mark each of the fallen workers - many of whom belonged to the 17th Battalion of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers.

The Field of Poppies project is part of the railway museum’s wider Heritage Lottery-funded scheme North Eastern Railways in World War One which also includes the creation of a database of all North Eastern railway workers who served in the conflict.

It also involves a forthcoming education programme for schools and an exhibition at the museum, which is now open to the public until November.

Ms Goldsbrough said: “We’re hoping to make a hanging from our footbridge here in the museum.

“It’s important to commemorate the contribution made by the railwaymen.

“The whole project started in February this year.

“We started promoting the poppies in April, May time and it has really taken off from August,” she said, noting that many local groups have already donated poppies, including Hurworth line dancing club, as well as staff at The Bridge and Crown Street Library knitting club.

Many individual knitters have also sent in poppies.

One pensioner who has taken up the challenge is Margaret Rickaby, 73, of Nickstream Lane, Darlington.

She has been knitting poppies for the last three weeks after hearing about it from a friend.

“I thought it was such a nice idea [to knit a poppy] for every railwayman who fell in the war. It’s important to remember they died,” she said.

Mrs Rickaby is now encouraging her friends to knit poppies too and likes the idea that the museum has not specified a particular knitting pattern.

“The poppies are as individual as the railwaymen,” she said.

For more information about knitting a commemorative poppy, contact Sarah Goldsbrough at Darlington Railway Museum on 01325-460532.

Completed poppies can be dropped off at the museum, off North Road, or at Crown Street Library.