A POPPY from the Tower of London’s commemorative display has gone on show to honour an Oxfordshire man who died in the First World War, aged 19.

Sidney Long, from Long Hanborough, died after being wounded in an attack near his regiment’s billet in France in 1916.

Carol Richmond bought one of the nearly 900,000 ceramic poppies used to create the major art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red around the Tower’s moat last year.

The family historian subsequently discovered that her third cousin lost his life in action and has now loaned the poppy to the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock, along with a picture of Mr Long and a poster telling his story.

Ms Richmond said: “When I saw that you could own the poppies I thought it was a wonderful idea.

“At the time I didn’t know about Sidney.

“I went back into my family tree and with help from a friend found two relatives of mine had died in the war.

The 67-year-old added: “I’m so delighted it will be loaned to the museum on a semi-permanent basis.

“People will be able to see it and read his story rather than it being kept in a drawer.”

Sidney Long was a private in the 1/4th Battalion of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

He was one of seven men hit by enemy fire while digging a trench near Bayencourt in France in April 1916,.

The former Blenheim Saw Mill employee was taken to a casualty clearing station but died of his wounds six days later. He is buried in Etretat Churchyard in Seine Maritime in France.

He was posthumously awarded the War Medal and the Victory Medal .

Last year’s art installation at the Tower of London filled the moat with 888,246 ceramic poppies.

Each poppy represented a British soldier’s death during the First World War to mark 100 years since the nation’s first involvement in the conflict.

All the poppies were eventually sold and raised millions of pounds shared among six service charities.

Ms Richmond, a retired training consultant who lives in Witney, couldn’t get hold of a second poppy as a tribute to a second distant relative but said it was increasingly important to remember those who lost their lives.

She said: “It’s particularly important for young people that they understand this generation of people gave so much for them.

“The ceramic poppy on display is the most wonderful idea to commemorate someone.”