Every morning I receive a text from the Transport Commissioner for London, Sir Peter Hendy.

Peter is passionate about the smooth running of London’s roads, tube lines, overground trains, buses, Boris bikes, cable car (it crosses the Thames at Greenwich to get people to the O2 arena) and almost always things appear to be running smoothly. This is no mean feat when you consider how many people travel round our capital city. I am told that at Waterloo, Britain’s busiest station, more people pass through the concourse in a couple of hours than in a whole day at Heathrow airport.

But in the past few weeks there have been some unexpected problems while Tower Hill station has been closed for engineering works with so many people trying to get to the Tower of London.

The reason for all the activity is the stunning art installation called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red or more familiarly The Poppies at the Tower that has been taking shape over the last few months.

Designed as a temporary memorial to those who fell in the Great War, the field of ceramic poppies spilling out of a tower window and into the moat has grown from the first flower ‘planted’ on August 5 to mark Britain’s official entry into the conflict, to a sea of crimson that will total 888,246 hand-made poppies, one for every British person who died during the course of the First World War by Armistice Day. The visual impact of this clever memorial is absolutely incomparable and with every poppy sold it also has raised more than £25m for service charities – a wonderful and practical way to commemorate the sacrifice of so many. More than four million people have already visited the Tower and as we look forward to our own Acts of Remembrance in towns and villages across the country this weekend, I wonder if the crowds we have seen in recent years will continue to grow as a result of national exhibits and commemorations in this Great War centenary year?

This Sunday I will be placing a wreath, on behalf of Parliament, during the Marlborough Remembrance Day parade. The local tributes, dignity of those present and the attendance of so many serving or former armed forces personnel makes this for me the most solemn and important event of my MP year.