THE poppies may now have departed from Hereford Cathedral but one former servicewoman was able to visit them before they went with the help of a charity.

A former member of the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF), Constance Rea from Longtown, visited the Poppies: Weeping Window display with a volunteer from Blind Veterans UK.

The charity supports blind and vision-impaired ex-service men and women.

Having a condition that affects the vision in both her eyes, Constance started receiving support from Blind Veterans UK in 2015 and finds visits to the city enable her to continue living independently.

She said: “I was very pleased to see them; it was lovely. They bring back memories of my time in the WRAF.”

Serving between 1942 and 1946, Constance worked as a driver before moving to Madley, where she met her husband.

“He was in the RAF and I met him when he came back from Africa. We were both stationed at Madley and met on camp there. I was working as a wireless operator in flight control at the time, which was very good fun,” said Constance. “My husband would have liked to have seen the poppies with me.”

The audio description of the poppies offered to people with vision impairments has meant that the display was inclusive for visitors like Constance.