More than 100 retailers across the UK took part in a window display contest earlier this month, run by housewares supplier Charles Viancin, in support of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

Retailers participating in the competition donated 20% of their sales from all Charles Viancin’s Poppy products in support of the charity’s fund-raising campaign.The 20% donation was split between the retailer and Charles Viancin.

Peter Battersby, head of Charles Viancin UK operations, said the supplier’s Poppy collection is well suited to window displays as it does not just include lids made from silicone (that fit on bowls to create an air- and liquid-tight seal) but textiles, chopping boards and a new tea range.

The winner of the contest is The Good Cook Shop in Worthing. Second place was awarded to Creative Cookware in Edinburgh and third place went to Fenwick department store in Colchester (originally called Williams & Griffin). The prize was free Charles Viancin stock for the retailers.

Peter said: “We picked the displays based on which gave the most visual impact and were most likely to catch the eye of passers-by.

“The Good Cook Shop’s display is an example of just how much time and effort retailers are prepared to put into a project like this. The owner David Goodenough has told me that he has had a stream of customers coming into the shop to congratulate him on his window display”.

The retailer on the West Sussex coast created a replica of a trench from the First World War in its store window. David explained: “The trench is intended to be a poignant representation of the human cost of war through the personal belongings left behind, and includes a muddy puddle and footprints suggestive of a soldier going over the top.

“We have included various personal items including a period pocket watch stopped at five minutes to eleven, a broken glasses frame supplied by our neighbour, a helmet and soldiers prayer book supplied by Worthing museum, plus a shell casing, bayonet and a Princess Mary Tin [a decorative brass tin sent by Princess Mary to members of the armed forces for Christmas 1914].

“One of our ex-employees – Richard Manders, who is a freelance illustrator – even created a letter from home to a soldier, which is trodden into the mud.”

Out of the trench, past the barbed wire and sandbags, there is real grass growing and a display of silicone poppies against a green backdrop.