Fundraising for the Legion
Poppy Appeal
Ways to support
There are lots of ways to support the Poppy Appeal and we've listed some of the more innovative ways on our New ways to support page.
Poppy Appeal launch video
Alesha Dixon and Pixie Lott launch the 2012 Poppy Appeal.
Poppy Appeal totals
The Poppy Appeal starts in October each year and totals are calculated based on the Legion's financial year which runs from October to September.
Due to the large amounts of monies collected it can take some time for this to flow through our large organisation. This year our volunteers have been really active and despite all the challenges have so far raised over £34 million. And although we are slightly behind last year's exceptional 90th anniversary numbers, our teams have worked exceptionally hard to bring in this impressive amount and we celebrate their acheivements.
History of the Poppy Appeal
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,"In Flanders' Fields", began selling
poppies to friends to raise money for the ex-Service community. The
Legion adopted the poppy for its fundraising in 1921 - and so the
tradition began.
More information about the history of the Poppy Appeal can be found here.
Poppy Factory
In 1922 Major George Howson, a young infantry officer, formed the Disabled Society to help disabled ex-Service men and women from the First World War. Howson suggested to the Legion that members of the Disabled Society could make poppies, and the Poppy Factory was subsequently founded in Richmond in 1922. The original poppy was designed so that workers with a disability could easily assemble it and this principle remains today.