Rose Scarf

This wreath of roses is inspired by Vera Brittain’s poem Perhaps,
which she dedicated to her fiancé Roland Aubrey Leighton who was
killed at the age of 20 by a sniper in 1915. The poem hauntingly
captures the numb grief felt by so many after the loss of a loved one,
when the world is so familiar and so changed in the same instant.

PERHAPS THE SUMMER WOODS WILL SHIMMER BRIGHT,
AND CRIMSON ROSES ONCE AGAIN BE FAIR,
AND AUTUMN HARVEST FIELDS A RICH DELIGHT,
ALTHOUGH YOU ARE NOT THERE.
VERA BRITTAIN (1893-1970), PERHAPS (EXCERPT)

During the First World War, Anzacs stationed in France would buy
postcards featuring silk embroidery to send home to their loved ones.
The embroidered rose featured in this design comes from a postcard
that was sent home from the front by Private Charles Sayer
(2nd Battalion, WIA 11 April 1918), which is in the
Anzac Memorial Collection.

100% Silk
Size Dimensions: 1 metre square