Poppy Display Creators Named On Honours List

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The artists who created a breathtaking installation of poppies at the Tower of London have been awarded MBEs in the New Year Honours.

Paul Cummins and Tom Piper were the masterminds of Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, which saw 888,246 ceramic poppies gradually fill the moat of the Tower. Each poppy signified a British or Colonial military death during World War I.

More than five million people attended the installation, with the Queen herself saying: "The only possible reaction to walking among them was silence."

Mr Cummins said he was "taken aback and shocked" to receive his MBE, but was "truly grateful" for the recognition.

"Everyone who worked on Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, to me, should feel a part of this MBE, without them this installation wouldn't have been created," he said.

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Gallery: The New Year Honours List

Actor John Hurt receives a knighthood

Joan Collins receives a DBE (Dame Commander)

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Actor James Corden receives an OBE

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There's an OBE for actress Emily Watson

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Trevor Baylis, the inventor of the wind-up radio, receives a CBE

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Mr Piper added: "It has been a real privilege to co-create an artwork which has meant so much to so many people."

Several other artists were also given the nod in this year's list, with Dynasty diva Joan Collins made a Dame for her charity work.

The 81-year-old actress said it was "humbling to receive this level of recognition from my Queen and country".

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Gallery: Tower Poppy Display Draws Huge Crowds

The art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London

Some 888,246 ceramic poppies filled the Tower moat

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Kristin Scott Thomas, who is due to play the British monarch in stage play "The Audience" next year, was also made a Dame.

"I am thrilled, astonished and worried that I might suddenly wake up," the actress, who received an Academy Award nomination in 1997 for The English Patient, said.

Comedian and actress Meera Syal, who receives a CBE for her services to art and literature.

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy - who has produced poignant verses on a plethora of subjects including the MPs' expenses scandal and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee - becomes a Dame.

Comic actor James Corden and actress Sheridan Smith were handed OBEs.

And a young music mogul who was instrumental in propelling Ed Sheeran to stardom has been honoured with an MBE.

Jamal Edwards started his multimillion pound business, SB.TV, when he was a teenager, and has also worked with Jessie J and Emeli Sande.

"It'll be the second time I've been to see the Queen. That's sick," he told Sky News. "I'm overwhelmed, it's going to be fun."

The former boss of the National Lottery has also hit the jackpot. Dianne Thompson has been made a Dame for her work as the chief executive of Camelot, which has raised more than £21bn for good causes during her tenure.

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