Poppies that captured the hearts of five million to start their nationwide tour

The two iconic red poppy sculptures that attracted more than five million visitors to the Tower of London are about to embark on a nationwide tour of Britain.

A total of 888,246 ceramic poppies were used around the famous tower's moat last year as part of the events to mark the start of World War One in 1914.

The two dramatic sculptures, conceived by artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper, Weeping Willow and the Wave, will be seen for the first time outside London in a few days.

The poppy displays at the heart of the art work was so popular with the public it was agreed they should be preserved.

British Chancellor George Osborne Tuesday visited Yorkshire Sculpture Park in northern England to watch the poppy sculpture, Wave, being assembled after it saved it for the nation, along with Weeping Willow, with the help of government funding.

The sculptures were surrounded at the Tower by a field of poppies, each one representing a British and Commonwealth soldier killed during the 1914-18 war.

Speaking at Yorkshire Sculpture Park, the Chancellor said: "I' m delighted that people in Yorkshire, as well as others across the country, will be able to see these fantastic displays and pay their respects to those who sacrificed everything to protect British freedoms.

"I'm also proud to say that this government continues to recognise that Britain has always been resolute in defence of liberty and the promotion of stability around the world.

"That's why I recently committed to meet the NATO pledge to spend 2 percent of our national income on defence every year of this decade."

"Not everyone who wanted to see the poppies could come to London, so I agreed to provide 550,000 pounds (863,000 U.S.dollars) of support to help take part of this extraordinary display on a tour around the country."

Weeping Willow formed a cascade of poppies spilling from a window of the Tower of London while the Wave was a swirling swathe of poppies rising out of the moat to form an arch over the entrance to the Tower.

The official organisation arranging events to mark the centenary of the war, 14-18 NOW, will in mid-September announce new locations for the poppy displays.

The Wave opens to the public at Yorkshire Sculpture Park at Wakefield on September 5 and will be on display until January 10, 2016.

Weeping Willow makes its provincial debut at Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland on September 12 and will remain there until November 1.

It will then be moved to St George's Hall, Liverpool where it is expected to be a centrepiece during the Remembrance Day Commemorations a few days later. The Weeping Willow will remain in Liverpool until January.

At the end of the national tour in 2018 they will be gifted to the Imperial War Museums in London and Manchester.