Canterbury's Royal British Legion branch calls for more volunteers

KentOnline / KMTV

It comes amid growing fears Canterbury's Poppy Appeal may have to be cancelled as the city's Royal British Legions branch says it's struggling to find a space to keep its stock of poppies.

Transcript

00:00Well, for many years, we've been in the Oddfellows Hall, which has been ideal for us because

00:06we have about 50 wreaths that are gifted to the members of the public who want to lay

00:12them in the bus market. And, of course, all the poppies that go out to the shops, the

00:19supermarkets, the pubs, the hotels, everywhere, who collect for us. And unfortunately, it

00:27went to auction last week and was sold to another buyer. So we now have no premises.

00:33We've done the rounds of the pubs, the church halls, the village halls, everywhere we possibly

00:44can. We've been to the supermarkets, car dealerships, anybody who can give us a room. The problem

00:51is that we need for five weeks, Monday to Saturday, 8 o'clock to 2 p.m. And of course,

00:57village halls have got other things going on through the week.

01:00Jan, just give us a bit of an idea of how much you need to be storing in these spaces

01:07as well, because I know you say sort of a village hall would be ideal. But as you say,

01:11many of them are being used throughout the week. How big of a space do you need? How

01:15much stock do you tend to keep?

01:18Well, we roughly need 24 feet long by about 16 feet wide. The problem is that we need

01:26it every day for five weeks.

01:30And what is it you're doing in this room? For those five weeks, what will it be you'll

01:33be doing in this room? What will you be using that for?

01:37We store the poppies, we make up the poppy boxes, and they're then delivered out by the

01:42team to the various outlets. We're restocking, we're giving out the wreaths to people who've

01:51ordered them. We're counting the money, and then we're going to the bank with it. So we

01:57go to the bank roughly five times a day.

02:01So this is incredibly crucial. We all know about the poppy appeal. If you can't find

02:07a new venue by September, October, what's going to happen for Canterbury this year?

02:13Well in Canterbury, it'll just be the supermarkets that will have stock, because we can give

02:18it to them at the beginning of the five weeks, and nobody else will get any poppies.

02:25And of course, I mean, as we say, it's such a cherished tradition in Canterbury. What

02:31does it mean to you to have gone so many years with that cherished site on the street,

02:37in the high street, many veterans, many volunteers, selling poppies? If that wasn't to happen,

02:44I mean, that must be heartbreaking.

02:47It is heartbreaking. Last year we collected £57,000, and the thought that we won't have

02:53that this year is just devastating.

02:58Now, Jan, remind us, £57,000 you raised last year. Remind us, where does that money go to?

03:06It goes up to head office, and it's then given out to the many veterans who are in need of

03:15help. It might be that they want a wet room or stair lift, and they can't afford those

03:21items. That's where the poppy appeal comes in. We also support Invictus with the English team.

03:30Absolutely, and it's a fantastic movement, the Invictus Games, of course. Also, another

03:36one of the sort of big blows that you're facing at the moment is volunteer numbers. Tell us

03:40what the situation is like. I know that you've had a few of your members of the local branch

03:45actually retiring recently.

03:48Well, yes, we've got three of us. Three of us in the team of seven are over 80, so we

03:56would like to step back, but we can't find anybody to replace us.

04:02What's the kind of goal there, then? Is it to sort of inspire the next generation to

04:09sort of take over the baton? I know there's lots of young cadets in the area, in Canterbury,

04:15of course. What conversations are being had?

04:18Yes, we are affiliated with the cadets, and you're showing pictures, actually, of that

04:28gentleman now. He's in his 80s, and he's been trying to give up for the last seven years.

04:33So we work with the cadets. We've got a cadet who is our standard bearer, so he is invaluable

04:41to us. But of course, if we're appearing at a funeral, supporting a funeral, he can't go

04:48because he's at school. So we have to rely on the gentleman who's trying to retire.

04:54Absolutely, of course. Now, obviously, despite all of this, you're pushing forward with some

04:59Armed Forces Day commemorations. Of course, it's 80 years since VE and VJ Day. It's a big moment.

05:07How are you planning to keep the momentum going at the local branch with everything else that

05:12you're juggling at the moment? Well, Armed Forces Day, which is

05:15June the 28th, we've actually got a parade through the city, and we're going to end up

05:20in Whitefriars with a short service. So people will be able to come and support us on that.

05:26We obviously mark VE Day and VJ Day. VE Day, we lay a wreath and have a short service at the

05:33butter market. VJ Day, we meet in the Westgate Gardens and have a short service there.

05:40Jan, it's been lovely to talk with you this morning, and we do wish you all the best for

05:44the future. Just before we go, what's the sort of one thing that you would say to our viewers to

05:47sort of get them rallying behind the Canterbury Royal British Legion branch? How can we be all

05:52stepping up to help? Please, can somebody find us a room?

05:58There must be a corner that I've missed, even though I've been out practically every day

06:02doing the rounds. And could we have some more volunteers?

Category

Transcript

Recommended