WW2 veterans to attend Poppy Appeal launch in Salisbury
The appeal is the Royal British Legion's biggest fundraising activity of the year
Veterans of World War Two will be gathering in Salisbury this morning as the Poppy Appeal launches in the city.
A short service launching the appeal in Salisbury and Amesbury is being held on Saturday morning, with veterans and Chelsea Pensioners joining Salisbury and Amesbury's mayors, local councillors, Members of Parliament and the Vice Lord Lieutenant General, Sir Andrew Gregory.
It's being led by the Royal British Legion, which organises the appeal, marking the start of the charity's largest fundraising activity of the year.
The appeal dates back to 1921, with the poppy being established as a symbol of remembrance, and raises funding to support the veteran and armed forces community.
President of the Salisbury Branch of the Royal British Legion, Chris Child, said: "The Royal British Legion uses that money to pay for financial support for veterans in need, it uses the money to pay for housing advice, it funds care homes that are for veterans and it runs a grant system.
"There's a lot of benefits that come from that poppy appeal and there's an awful lot of veterans still in need out there.
"We have a lot of elderly veterans, you'll appreciate that, for example, the National Service cohort that went through in the immediate post-war years, dare I say it, they're now getting on a bit and a lot of them are in need.
"It's delightful that we've still got some World War II veterans with us, but the veterans community still has needs, it needs to be looked after and that's what the Poppy Appeal pays for."
The event begins at 9.30am, at the Guildhall, before the Salisbury Band of the Royal British Legion plays at around 10am, before the launch event itself is held at 10.30am, followed by a short act of remembrance.
The event will see the first poppies of the 2025 appeal handed out, as well as prizes for the charity's shop window dressing competition, which has had around two dozen local businesses take part.
Chris is urging people across South Wiltshire to help with the appeal as volunteers, saying it's "good for the soul" as well as helping raise more money.
"The money you raise is directly proportionate to the number of volunteers you have. The more volunteers that step forward, the more opportunities you've got to raise money," he said.
He added that there's a growing cohort of people giving up there time in Salisbury, but stressed that there's a need for more.