As seen on TV: Nic Joly's 141 Days

At zero hours on July 1st 1916, whistles blew all along the front line. Troops were ordered to walk towards enemy lines. Met with relentless machine gun fire, thousands of brave men were cut down in minutes. By the end of that first day, 19,240 British soldiers had lost their lives and the casualty figure was an overwhelming 57,470. It was the highest number of casualties suffered by the army in a single day in British military history.

To mark the centenary in 2016, Nic Joly placed 141 golden figures holding poppies on 141 war memorials across the UK and abroad. Each one represented a day that the Battle of the Somme was fought. Standing 50mm tall including their red brass poppies, the polished golden figures encouraged people to stop, look and remember what happened 100 years ago and remind us that every life lost was golden. 

The sculptor went on to appear on BBC One's The One Show. Watch the interview below.