Chiswick's Poppy Appeal Raises Over £30,000
Local branch of the Royal British Legion sees significant revival
Al Murray (left) with Cllr Gerald McGregor; Mark James; Tony Currie; Cathie James and Elisabeth Whittaker
Chiswick residents have helped raise more than £30,000 for the Royal British Legion through this year’s Poppy Appeal, marking a significant revival of the local branch.
The total of £30,459.31 represents a 4,883 per cent increase on last year’s collection of just £611, when the branch was described as being “in limbo.” The funds were gathered through a combination of £20,147 in contactless payments, £9,527.41 in cash, and £784.90 via QR codes.
Local organiser Elisabeth Whittaker, who restarted the Chiswick branch after struggling to buy poppies in recent years, coordinated collections across schools, shops, churches, estate agents and three of Chiswick’s Sunday markets. For the first time in several years, volunteers also collected at Turnham Green tube station, with comedian and WW2 historian Al Murray joining the team on London Poppy Day, 30 October.
Elisabeth said, “I’d like to say a huge thank you to the people of Chiswick for their generosity and also to our wonderful volunteers, not least Al Murray who joined us at the station, and the incredibly helpful staff at Turnham Green station. We’re already planning for next year when we’ll try to do even better.”
The appeal ran from 23 October until Remembrance Sunday, 9 November, with daily collections at the station and strong support at the Chiswick Flower Market, Antiques Market and Street Food Market.
Elisabeth worked closely with long-time volunteer Mark James, who has distributed collecting boxes in Chiswick for many years, and with Graham Peach, chairman of the local branch and commanding officer of Chiswick Sea Scouts. Graham welcomed the new energy brought to the appeal and confirmed the branch will be reorganised in the New Year.
Angus Watson, who manages volunteer organisers for the Legion in south west London, praised the effort: “We’re incredibly grateful to Elisabeth for galvanising our efforts in Chiswick. Every volunteer helps us raise vital funds for veterans and their families.”
The Royal British Legion provides wide-ranging support for those who have served in the armed forces, including financial assistance, housing support, and health services. Demand for its services has grown amid the cost-of-living crisis, with more than 23,000 veterans and families receiving grants in the past year alone.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |