Real ‘Little Bill’ doll to join the incredibly popular D-Day woolly soldiers
The display is currently travelling across the UK and the US and will return to its village in 2026
The knitted figures - some of which are pictured here in France - will be joined by an authentic 'Little Bill' figure from the First World WarMike Forster
More than 150,000 people in France and the UK have now seen an 80-metre-long display featuring knitted and crocheted scenes of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy organised by a British woman who lives in Normandy.
The 'little Bill' dolls were made in the trenches during the war to be sent homeThe Longest Yarn
Organiser Tansy Forster, from Carentan, said a memorable moment during its travels in the UK in the latter months of 2024 came when a man brought an in biscuit tin containing a ‘Little Bill’ doll that his grandfather had made in the trenches of World War One to send home.
“They used to make them out old canvas, or boots, or whatever they had to hand, and would send it back to their sweethearts," she said.
The figure, pictured, is now set to join The Longest Yarn knitted display in a new museum that will be built in the village of Carentan, due to host the scenes permanently from April 2026. The mayor is organising it, Mrs Forster said.
Britain at War
She and her volunteers now plan a second display with another 80 scenes from World War Two. It will be named Britain at War and as well as the miniature scences it will include six to eight life-size figures.
Organiser Tansy Forster with the dolls in NormandyMike Forster
“It’s due to demand – if you go on to our Facebook and see all the comments and videos that have been made. The appetite for it is unbelievable,” she said.
Visited by 60,000
The Longest Yarn was created by volunteers from the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
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The scenes were assembled in the UK before being brought over by volunteers for a display in the church at Carentan for the 80th anniversary of D-Day, which 50-60,000 people visited.
Mrs Forster then appealed for help obtaining exhibition boxes to carry them for future trips, as the cardboard boxes used up to then were fragile.
They were sourced from a firm in Orléans, she said. The display later went to churches in the UK, including Tewkesbury Abbey, where it is until January 10.
“Southall Minster, the first venue, normally has 50,000 visitors a year and we attracted 30,000 in 19 days. We gridlocked the town, and shops and cafes ran out of food and had to close,” she said.
A veteran pictured with the displayThe Longest Yarn
“The Royal Garrison Church at Aldershot was very emotional because a lot of veterans visited. The camp commander was involved and the head warrant officer of the British Army came.”
It was also during this display that the 'Little Bill' figure was brought in.
The project has so far raised €250,000. Once it is all over, the surplus will go to veterans’ charities in the UK, France and US. This includes income from a book on the project, which has sold 16,000 copies so far.
Where it will be
Future dates include St. Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen (January 14 to February 7), Norwich University Library (February 10 to March 2) and Peterborough Cathedral (March 3 to April 1).
The display will travel to the US on April 25 to the Naval Museum in Cape May, New Jersey, for five months, before a US tour.
Mrs Forster (info@thelongestyarn.com) is now seeking donations and more volunteer knitters, a ferry firm to help cross to Ireland - and a permanent home in the UK for the second display.
