THE annual Poppy Appeal organised here by the Petersfield branch of the Royal British Legion has been launched and will run till Saturday, November 13, the day before Remembrance Sunday.

In 2019, branch volunteers raised just over £27,000, passing the 2018 total of £26,000.

A Petersfield spokesman said: “The appeal helps provide financial, social and emotional care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces – past and present and their families.”

During the appeal, Petersfield branch secretary David Lloyd and his wife Christina will be running a Poppy Appeal stall in Waitrose.

Founded in 1921, the Legion is not just about those who fought in the two world wars of the last century, but also about those involved in the many conflicts since 1945 and those still fighting for the freedom we enjoy today.

In May this year, the Royal British Legion celebrated its centenary; in Petersfield branch president Jeff Williams laid a wreath at the town’s war memorial to commemorate the charity’s work of the past 100-years.

On November 11, Armistice Day, the branch is to receive an official 100-year celebration pennant.