The Weeping Window section was draped down St George's Hall ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

Thousands of visitors are expected to see the display, which ends in January.

Army reservist Sgt John Ryan said: "Every time I see one of the poppies, it just reminds me of one of my friends who are with us no more."

Created by artists Paul Cummins and Tom Piper, the Tower of London artwork marked 100 years since the start of World War One and drew more than five million visitors last year.

It was named Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red after a line written by a Derbyshire soldier who died in Belgium.

Each of the 888,246 poppies in the original display represented one of the deaths in the British and Colonial forces between 1914 and 1918.

Most of the poppies were sold to the public, raising about £9m for military charities, but two sections - the Wave and the Weeping Window - were bought for the nation by the charities Backstage Trust and Clore Duffield Foundation.

About 120,000 people saw the Weeping Window when it was displayed at Woodhorn Museum in Northumberland during the past two months, while Yorkshire Sculpture Park said its visitor numbers nearly trebled in September when the Wave was installed.

Both sections will be exhibited at other venues across the UK before they are permanently housed at the Imperial War Museums in London and Manchester after 2018.

(bbc.com)