Midsomer Norton & Radstock Branch of the Royal British Legion collected the fantastic sum of £24,052.54 during the recent Poppy Appeal.

This year, 150 collecting tins were distributed. Given that our Branch covers a population of 46,763 according to the 2021 census, and that the figure will have increased with the new housing developments in the area, this was an improvement over last year’s total of £20,892.02. The Branch will not know the final total until the Royal British Legion come back with an official total in the months ahead. What the total does not show, and what the Branch cannot know, is the amount raised from the new QR Code (which was in evidence across the Branch area). We will not find out the total funds raised from this until the RBL advise us.

The Poppy Appeal Organiser for the area, Mrs Alison Wilson, said that she puts the total down to an accumulation of different things, such as a dedicated distribution team who give out the collecting tins andpoppy trays to businesses and schools in the area, and then collect and return the tins and trays following the appeal; the team of volunteers who manned some collecting points at Tesco and Lidl, which also included members of the two local Rotary Branches; the team of counters who were sharp eyed and only let one foreign coin through the system to reach the bank, and finally, but by no means least, the generous members of the public and local businesses who so warmly donated so much money to help those veterans and their families caught up in mental and physical hardship.

World War I is now relegated to the history books and World War II is close to becoming a date in the history of this country. But that does not mean the work of the Royal British Legion is at an end. Since the birth of the Legion, there have been countless wars, military operations and the need for individuals serving, ex service personnel and their families to be helped.

As long as there is a need, the Legion will always be there for them.

Will Nicol