The Royal British Legion is seeking a new generation of volunteers for its Poppy Appeal campaign.

The generous donation of your time is the most critical factor in the success of our annual Poppy Appeal.

Each year our Poppy People numbers drop, as many of our older collectors decide that they can no longer assist us. They have well and truly done their bit, and now we need to focus on new faces to come forward and lend a hand.

Poppy People give anything from two hours to two weeks of their time to collect on streets, shops and workplaces through out Germany. Everyone can get involved, and your contribution can really make a difference to serving and ex-Service people in need.

We in Berlin need to hear from you now, even though you'll be assisting in November. Imagine how long it takes to plan who needs to go where and do what, and how to get supplies to them; in many ways it's like a military operation! The more people who sign up now, the better we can get organised.

How the Poppy Appeal began

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the First World War ended. Civilians wanted to remember the people who had given their lives for peace and freedom. An American War Secretary, Moina Michael, inspired by John McCrae's poem, began selling poppies to friends to raise money for the ex-Service community. And so the tradition began.

Poppy Collectors: Help us to keep our annual Poppy Appeal growing.

Without volunteer collectors out there on the streets, without appeal organisers planning the collections, this great cause would grind to a halt.

We urgently need to recruit more people as many of our current volunteers are retiring from active duty. Add to this the ever increasing demand on the Legion's services and you can see we need your help more than ever.