Cheltenham Lead story News

Cheltenham Royal British Legion fears over drop in poppy sales

Each November, many tributes are paid to soldiers as part of the annual acts of remembrance. It is estimated that the Royal British Legion has roughly 20% of its usual number of donation boxes in shops due to the pandemic.

Roy Roberts, Chairman of the Royal British Legion’s Cheltenham Branch, said: “It’s very sad… it will have an impact on what we are able to do to help people in the coming years.”

Chairman of the Royal British Legion’s Cheltenham Branch, Roy Roberts

The Royal British Legion made roughly £600,000 over the past six years, but with fewer donation boxes around, this figure is likely to be far lower.

Despite this, tributes have still been paid all over the county, with Gloucester Cathedral being lit red for Remembrance Sunday, and people having the two-minute silence on their doorstep instead.

Mr. Roberts went on to say: “I welcome the fact that your generation still feels strongly enough to be interested in what’s happening.”

On the 11th November, millions all over the country fall silent to commemorate the fallen soldiers of World War 1. While Remembrance Sunday (which falls on the second Sunday in November) pays tribute to those who have fallen in all wars.

The signature poppy comes from the poem “In Flanders Fields”, which references the flower that bloomed in the battlefields of the Western Front.

With the pandemic showing no signs of slowing down, we will have to see whether similar events take place next year, and what the effect will be on those who are in need.

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