Royal garden party honour for Skegness RBL in VE Day week

National World

The Skegness branch of the Royal British Legion has a lot to celebrate this week. As well as finding a new home for the 2025 Poppy Appeal project, they will be taking part in VE Day celebrations and two members, chairman Kevin Woolley and Poppy Appeal Organiser Tracy Turner are guests at the Royal Garden Party.

Transcript

00:00our new home we have poppy we have our chairman Kevin Woolley we have our

00:15Falklands veteran Bernie the Bolts we have Marley we have Louise we have our

00:27poppy stall we've got our raffle we have a nice photo what we did last year it's so

00:42great to see you in your new home can you tell us where it is so we're on the high

00:49street now the old Curtis's shop opposite the tipsy cow pub another gift that we've

00:59been given as a unit for as long as we can flag our way to stay in here now

01:06it's taller than the other one but it's still very very very happy to be here

01:10now the 2025 poppy appeal it's been underway for a few weeks now what can you

01:17tell me about it so the 2025 poppy project for Skegness is going quite well

01:25we've started earlier than we did last year so we're already hitting past 10,000

01:30poppies and it's going to be going on to the high altitude climbing frame down at

01:36the seafront which is 21 meters high so we need probably double the amount of

01:40poppies we had last year and that was 37,000 we have been gifted from the fire

01:46brigade their staff to come in and actually put it up there so we're going

01:50to make a day of that where we can watch them do all the hard work the poppies are

01:55coming in from all around the world again we've had Monaco is the latest place

01:59that we've had some from the holiday makers are still bringing them in they're

02:04still posting them in so it's going really well I mean he's trying to tell

02:08me something so I'm just going to let her come in there all right okay

02:13hello just to say that the poppies from Monaco was sent by the chaplain to his

02:19majesty the king wow I mean that is just amazing why do you think this appeal is

02:25reaching so far and so many people I think because it's an opportunity it's an

02:32opportunity for them to express their gratitude and to remember things I think

02:36the way the world is at the moment it needs positivity and I think they see

02:41this as a positive thing that's something they can do that doesn't tax them

02:45they're in they're involved in it they're naturally knitting or creating

02:49whatever they create and they're using their own skills I think it's lovely to be

02:53part of a big community project like this now people are thinking more about the

02:59veterans at the moment because we're just a couple of weeks away

03:01day can you tell me what's happening in Skegness so it's for us we're going to be

03:08combining VE and VJ day for the 18th commemoration and we're going to have a

03:13picnic in the park on the Saturday the 10th of May which is going to be there's

03:18going to be stalls there's going to be singers there's going to be some World War

03:21II vehicles and of course we will be there with one of our nets begging people to

03:27help us tie them on but the best bit for us is we are having the Battle of Britain

03:33fly past of two Spitfires at approximately 1.16pm so that's what we're up to and the

03:42local town council are doing something on the 8th which is a Thursday and yeah and

03:49we're doing the 10th and we're hoping it will be full of people with their picnic

03:52blankets and their chairs and they'll just be having fun and dressed up as well

03:57I understand oh there's a few people wanting to dress up in some 40s gear and

04:01they are very very welcome yeah it sounds a lot of fun

04:06now Tracy last year we had the poppy thrown now who is it you've got behind you

04:12uh well this time this this this year we've got a big poppy we've got an actually walking talking

04:19moving big poppy and we've been going out into town and we've had a walk down the prom

04:25and it's been nice engagement yeah and promoting everything you do I guess

04:30yeah just getting just getting out there we were out last week with the poppy because the

04:35children did a fantastic they have to mater and professor zed and lightly mcqueen last week so

04:42we were just giving out easter eggs easter treats to all the children

04:45hello there so I'm the chairman of sickness british region um next week me and tracy have got the

04:53honor to go to buckingham palace for the garden party on the 7th um and that's all in recognition

04:59of what we did last year with the project around the clock tower so that's something we're really

05:05looking forward to and it's such an honor to go there and were you surprised to be invited

05:10very surprised very humbled um once in a lifetime event uh i'm taking my dad with me and he's

05:19absolutely over the moon um so yeah it's it's going to be a fantastic day

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