POPPY Appeal organisers have praised the generosity of Melksham and surrounding villages for raising over £8,000 for this year’s appeal.
Organisation of this year’s appeal faced difficulty due to Covid-19 restrictions and a second national lockdown.
Whilst this year’s total is less than previous years, organisers have hailed this year’s total as “magnificent” under the circumstances.
Poppy Appeal organiser, Trevor Paterson said, “On behalf of the Melksham branch of the Royal British Legion, I would like to thank the residents of Melksham and the surrounding villages for their support for this year’s Poppy Appeal, which, due to the Covid restrictions and lockdown, our collections have been greatly reduced in comparison to previous years.
“I would like to thank Jacqui Webster, the Asda community champion, and the manager of Melksham Lidl store, for allowing the branch to have tables in both stores for the sale of poppies for the three days before the latest lockdown. Your customers were very generous and we raised a total of £1,610. I would like to thank all the volunteers who gave their time to man our tables at these stores.
“I would also like to thank Bruce Sanders, owner of Autoline Service Station on Spa Road, for allowing us to position a table in his shop over the whole period, which, along with poppy boxes at the checkouts, raised a total of £858, a magnificent total!
“I would also like to thank Christine Price for organising the collections in and around Atworth, the total raised was £579. I would also like to thank the schools in Melksham, Atworth and Shaw, who allowed collections in their schools, raising a total of £1,690.
“I would also like to thank the Melksham Town Council for their generous donation to the Melksham branch this year.
“And finally I would like to thank Lee, Alana and Anne at the Parsons Nose pub here in Melksham, for providing refreshments on the pavement outside the pub for ex-service personnel who attended the brief ceremonies at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday and Remembrance Day at 11am; also Alana’s mother for cooking the excellent cake for the raffle, which raised £515 for the ‘Scottish little soldiers’.
“We have raised a total over £8,000, a magnificent amount in the circumstances, with some more to come from the various places still closed.”
