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 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 The Watercress Line joined forces with the Alton Branch relevant today.” to celebrate the launch of the 2014 Hampshire Poppy Appeal. Colin Fuller, a life member of the steam railway, The Poppy Launch provided a golden opportunity to invited members of the Royal British Legion to travel on introduce the Royal British Legion’s new ‘Live On’ the return trip between Alresford to Alton as a young initiative and the speeches over, the travellers accordionist played wartime favourites and the adjourned to the Waiting Room where their Watercress passengers sang along with gusto. Line hosts provided a first class buffet and warming cup of tea. 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 As of January 2015 the current total raised in South Hampshire … the World War II leaders represented by two very is an amazing: £733,118.24 convincing impersonators. 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 Picture courtesy of the Isle of Wight County Press. 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. 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 Launch 2013 is an amazing: £120,730.66 again already more than the whole of 2014. Well Done! 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." David Thomas, RBL club president Eric Chestnutt, Members of Ryde’s Royal British Legion helped open parade marshal Ken Whitter, standard bearer Don the new store, which opened on the same day as the Bridges and Poppy Appeal organiser Bob Douglas. national launch of the Poppy Appeal and were thankful (Front) Jack Kilby, 4, presented with his poppy by RBL for the added opportunity to collect there during this Branch chair Ivor Millard year's Poppy Appeal. Page 2 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 two- minute silence as poppies fell gently from the ceiling on to the performers. Watch this space for exciting 2015 festival announcement! 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.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- faceted frontline combat and security roles on this their City Poppy Day 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 multi- Page 3 NATIONAL NEWS Door to Door Fundraising St George’s Day Concert – Thursday 23rd April 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. Central Band Door-to-door fundraising is an essential part of how the Legion plans to engage with new supporters, providing Join us once again at St George’s Hanover Square an opportunity for people to speak with someone about when the Legion’s own superb Central Band will be in our work at any time of year, and consider a valuable residence to perform in this beautiful and centuries-old regular gift to support our work. Regular gifts/Direct London church. David Cole and his musicians cannot Debits mean the Legion saves on bank charges and fail to entertain with their amazing repertoire of popular has a predictable income so we ensure we have the and familiar tunes – all with an English theme of course! funds to deliver vital services to beneficiaries. As well as great music there will be some amusing and stirring words read by our celebrity guests. Absolutely The door-to-door team are professional fundraisers who fabulous! Tickets £35 each to include wine, soft drinks wear branded RBL clothing and have official and nibbles in the church beforehand. identification. Contact Rebecca on 020 3207 2272 or at All fundraisers have been fully trained and have a good [email protected] understanding of the Legion’s work. 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.