HAMPSHIRE, SOUTH & ISLE OF WIGHT
JANUARY 2015
Hampshire Poppy Appeal
As most of you will know by now Hampshire has been
split into 2 separate regions for the Poppy Appeal. This
was done in August of last year in order to relieve the
workload as the area was double the size of most other
Counties. Dave Moore was employed to take over for
Hampshire North and I (Clare Peppiatt) will remain
Community Fundraiser for Hampshire South and The
Isle of Wight. In August I will have been with the Legion
ten years and it just keeps getting better!
If you would like me to visit or you have any queries
please do not hesitate to contact me on either 02380
477274 , [email protected]. If you have
any idea's please let me know.
Poppy Appeal Launch 2014
The Watercress Line joined forces with the Alton Branch
to celebrate the launch of the 2014 Hampshire Poppy
Appeal. Colin Fuller, a life member of the steam railway,
invited members of the Royal British Legion to travel on
the return trip between Alresford to Alton as a young
accordionist played wartime favourites and the
passengers sang along with gusto.
The Mayor and Mayoress of Alton and the Town Crier
were joined by County President David Harrison,
County Chairman Bill Bates, Winston Churchill and
Field Marshal Montgomery … yes, Churchill and Monty
… the World War II leaders represented by two very
convincing impersonators.
Winston Churchill delivered his ‘this was their finest
hour’ speech and Brigadier Harrison thanked the people
of Hampshire for their incredible generosity. “The Royal
British Legion is needed as much today as ever it was,”
he emphasised at the end of the rail journey. “Every
village was touched by World War I, it was not the war
to end all wars and the Poppy Appeal remains very
relevant today.”
The Poppy Launch provided a golden opportunity to
introduce the Royal British Legion’s new ‘Live On’
initiative and the speeches over, the travellers
adjourned to the Waiting Room where their Watercress
Line hosts provided a first class buffet and warming cup
of tea.
As of January 2015 the current
total raised in South Hampshire
is an amazing: £733,118.24
already more than the whole of
2014. Well Done!
Clare Peppiatt [email protected] T: 02380 477274 M: 07919 573770
Page 1
HAMPSHIRE, SOUTH & ISLE OF WIGHT LOCAL NEWS
Isle of Wight Poppy Appeal
Launch 2014
The Isle of Wight launched their Poppy Appeal with a
parade and short service in Shanklin on Saturday, 18th
October. Led by the Vectis Corps of Drums, the County
Standard, together with Branch Standards from
Brighstone & District, East Cowes, Newport &
Carisbrooke, Ryde, Seaview & Nettlestone and
Shanklin were joined by the Submariners Association,
the Royal Artillery Association and the Royal Hampshire
Old Comrades Association to parade from Shanklin
RBL Club to Regent Street. Also on parade were legion
members, members of other ex-service associations,
cadets, scouts and brownies.
Following the short service, poppies were handed out
by a scout and a brownie before the parade returned to
Shanklin RBL Club. The salute was taken by the High
Sheriff and Col. David Langford, Deputy Lord
Lieutenant, escorted by Mr. Andy Pound, IW RBL
County Chairman and Mrs. Sylvia Williams, IW RBLWS
County Chairman.
Picture courtesy of the Isle of Wight County Press.
Southern Vectis kindly made the Poppy Bus available to
assist with publicity on the day and Island Roads took
care of the road closures for the morning.
As of January 2015 the current
total raised on the Isle of Wight
is an amazing: £120,730.66
again already more than the
whole of 2014. Well Done!
Launch 2013
Other News:
SAINSBURY’S opened its latest Isle of Wight store in
October.
The Sainsbury’s Local opened in what was Sweet
Chariot and Stanley’s Bar in Union Street, Ryde,
creating 20 jobs.
Store manager Maria Bird said: "We are looking forward
to the buzz this new store will bring to the area."
Members of Ryde’s Royal British Legion helped open
the new store, which opened on the same day as the
national launch of the Poppy Appeal and were thankful
for the added opportunity to collect there during this
year's Poppy Appeal.
Page 2
David Thomas, RBL club president Eric Chestnutt,
parade marshal Ken Whitter, standard bearer Don
Bridges and Poppy Appeal organiser Bob Douglas.
(Front) Jack Kilby, 4, presented with his poppy by RBL
Branch chair Ivor Millard
HAMPSHIRE, SOUTH & ISLE OF WIGHT LOCAL NEWS
FESTIVAL OF REMEMBRANCE
THE 02 Guildhall Southampton hosted a spectacular
Hampshire Festival of Remembrance on the 8th
November to commemorate the 100th anniversary of
the start of the First World War.
A band of the south’s top military musicians took to the
stage along with a chorus of 100 voices from
Southampton Philharmonic Choir and the Southampton
University Philharmonc Choir, all under the baton of
Captain Tony Adams, director of music at Tidworth. The
Corps of Drums of The Yorkshire Regiment also
performed.
The evening was presented by Saints legend Matt Le
Tissier and aimed at raising both money and awareness
for the Royal British Legion.
The evening’s programme of music included Behind the
Lines, a work composed by Rifleman Cecil Coles, who
was killed in 1918 by a German sniper.
Other music included Mars from Holst’s Planets Suite;
Hymn to the Fallen from John Willliams’ soundtrack to
Saving Private Ryan; a choir and band setting of the
tune Nimrod from Elgar’s Enigma Variations and The
Last Night of the World from the hit musical, Miss
Saigon.
The crowning moment of the event was a poignant twominute silence as poppies fell gently from the ceiling on
to the performers.
Matt Le Tissier said: “I don’t have any musical talent so
it’s great for me to be able to watch people who have.”
Watch this space for exciting 2015 festival
announcement!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
City Poppy Day
faceted frontline combat and security roles on this their
350th anniversary. and raising, through Poppy
collecting, a staggering £4,600 in just six hours
Hundreds of shoppers craned their necks as three
members of REME abseiled, amid a hail of Poppy
petals, from the 80-foot high ceiling above the West
Quay Centre in Southampton. The trio, wearing their
‘Live On’ T-shirts, received warm and generous
applause from the crowd and posed for numerous
photographs.
The event was the high-point of Southampton’s City
Poppy Day held during the October school half-term
holiday. The Armed Forces were well represented with
members of the Royal Navy, REME, Royal Logistics
Corps, 17 Port & Maritime and the local Army Cadet
Force manning information stalls and assisting with
displays
Senior Service chefs took time to speak with onlookers
about catering in the modern Royal Navy, colleagues
enlightened the interested about Communications and
Reconnaissance and a Trauma Surgeon explained
about his work which involved him in a recent
deployment to Afghanistan.
An Army diver from 17 Port & Maritime in Marchwood
demonstrated scuba and deep sea equipment while
Royal Marine Commandos talked about their multiPage 3
NATIONAL NEWS
Door to Door Fundraising
Some of you may recall that in 2013-14 the Legion
undertook door-to-door fundraising through a
professional agency for the first time. This was highly
successful, and over 5,000 new regular givers were
recruited with forecast income expected to be
£2,000,000+ over a five year period. This year we
restarted on August 1, pausing during October and
November to honour Remembrance and restarted in
December. Throughout the whole year we aim to recruit
15,000 new donors with a five year income forecast of
over £6,500,000. This income contributes greatly to the
Legion’s ability to plan, develop and implement our
services as effectively as possible for the whole Armed
Forces family, whether serving, veteran or their families
and loved ones.
Door-to-door fundraising is an essential part of how the
Legion plans to engage with new supporters, providing
an opportunity for people to speak with someone about
our work at any time of year, and consider a valuable
regular gift to support our work. Regular gifts/Direct
Debits mean the Legion saves on bank charges and
has a predictable income so we ensure we have the
funds to deliver vital services to beneficiaries.
The door-to-door team are professional fundraisers who
wear branded RBL clothing and have official
identification.
All fundraisers have been fully trained and have a good
understanding of the Legion’s work.
St George’s Day Concert –
Thursday 23rd April
Central Band
Join us once again at St George’s Hanover Square
when the Legion’s own superb Central Band will be in
residence to perform in this beautiful and centuries-old
London church. David Cole and his musicians cannot
fail to entertain with their amazing repertoire of popular
and familiar tunes – all with an English theme of course!
As well as great music there will be some amusing and
stirring words read by our celebrity guests. Absolutely
fabulous! Tickets £35 each to include wine, soft drinks
and nibbles in the church beforehand.
Contact Rebecca on 020 3207 2272 or at
[email protected]
The fundraisers have registered with the Police in each
county and this information should have been cascaded
to the local stations.
All data is handled securely and in accordance with the
Direct Debit Guarantee and other financial regulations.
Fundraisers will not ask for a cash donation.
All fundraisers comply with appropriate codes of
practise and legal regulations.
Any complaints we receive from residents are
investigated and acted upon.
The main query we receive is whether the fundraisers
are genuine, which is where positive communications
from Branches can allay these concerns. Up to date
information (including FAQ’s) is available on the website
and Knowledge Base. Working areas change on a
monthly basis so internal briefing emails are sent to
regional operation and fundraising staff to cascade
down through their areas when a campaign is live in an
area. Email [email protected] for more
information.
Page 4
GREAT NORTH RUN
Great North Run
Sunday 13th September 2015
The registration fee of £40 is a contribution towards the
race entry and is strictly non-refundable.
The target is to raise a minimum of £300 sponsorship.
Anyone interested should contact:
Rachel Hardwick
Mobile: 07825 316 289
[email protected]