Martin Barraud came up with the idea of representing the Fallen of the First World War with 50 perspex figures among the pews at St John the Baptist Church in the village in 2016, with support from Reverend Tom Holme.
His six-foot silhouettes of ‘Tommy’ soldiers were bought by 5,000 communities across the country to mark last year’s centenary of the end of the First World War.
A further 80,000 ten-inch versions were sold, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds for the charity Remembered, which supports the Armed Forces community, while education packs were sent out to 24,000 schools.
Martin said: “Three years on from a local idea to help take Penshurst’s 50 Fallen off the wall [the church war memorial], we were invited by the Western Front Association to lay a Tommy at the Cenotaph.
“I have to say, standing in the small group with others laying wreaths, in the middle of Whitehall, in the chilly blue sky day, listening to the Last Post and then walking alone to the Cenotaph to be guided as to where to put the Tommy by a friendly face was truly a lifetime moment. Just simply unforgettable.”
This year, Martin created another installation to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Bootprints on Slapton Sands, laying out 749 sets of footprints on the shore.
It commemorated the tragic rehearsal in Devon for the invasion of Normandy, when 749 US servicemen were killed after their ships were attacked by German E-Boats.
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