Crocheted Erewash soldier stuns BBC TV viewers

A poignant life-size statue of a World War One soldier is standing proudly in an Erewash churchyard – after being made entirely from crocheting.

A BBC news crew rushed to film the astonishing tribute, the work of Stanley Common mum Jilly Crofts who is known locally as “The Crochet Queen”.

The 57 year old laboured for 200 hours over a number of months to get the figure ready for Remembrance Day.

The 6ft soldier stands to attention at the village’s All Saints Church. Crocheted poppies surround his feet.

Speaking to BBC TV East Midlands Today, mother-of-one Jilly said: “Stanley Common hasn’t got a permanent war memorial so a couple of years ago I crocheted a postbox topper with a solder on it. It went down phenomenally well so I thought,

Why not do a life-size version of it?  I basically made it up as I went along – no pattern.”

One surprised local resident said as crowds flocked to admire the statue: “This is such a fantastic thing for the village. Jilly has really excelled herself.”

Pictures that were posted on the Friends of Stanley Common Facebook page drew comments such as: “Wow! That’s incredible. A lot of work has gone into that.”

Another said simply: “Absolutely beautiful.”