It comes amid growing fears Canterbury's Poppy Appeal may have to be cancelled as the city's Royal British Legions branch says it's struggling to find a space to keep its stock of poppies.
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00:00Well, for many years, we've been in the Oddfellows Hall, which has been ideal for us because
00:06we have about 50 wreaths that are gifted to the members of the public who want to lay
00:12them in the bus market. And, of course, all the poppies that go out to the shops, the
00:19supermarkets, the pubs, the hotels, everywhere, who collect for us. And unfortunately, it
00:27went to auction last week and was sold to another buyer. So we now have no premises.
00:33We've done the rounds of the pubs, the church halls, the village halls, everywhere we possibly
00:44can. We've been to the supermarkets, car dealerships, anybody who can give us a room. The problem
00:51is that we need for five weeks, Monday to Saturday, 8 o'clock to 2 p.m. And of course,
00:57village halls have got other things going on through the week.
01:00Jan, just give us a bit of an idea of how much you need to be storing in these spaces
01:07as well, because I know you say sort of a village hall would be ideal. But as you say,
01:11many of them are being used throughout the week. How big of a space do you need? How
01:15much stock do you tend to keep?
01:18Well, we roughly need 24 feet long by about 16 feet wide. The problem is that we need
01:26it every day for five weeks.
01:30And what is it you're doing in this room? For those five weeks, what will it be you'll
01:33be doing in this room? What will you be using that for?
01:37We store the poppies, we make up the poppy boxes, and they're then delivered out by the
01:42team to the various outlets. We're restocking, we're giving out the wreaths to people who've
01:51ordered them. We're counting the money, and then we're going to the bank with it. So we
01:57go to the bank roughly five times a day.
02:01So this is incredibly crucial. We all know about the poppy appeal. If you can't find
02:07a new venue by September, October, what's going to happen for Canterbury this year?
02:13Well in Canterbury, it'll just be the supermarkets that will have stock, because we can give
02:18it to them at the beginning of the five weeks, and nobody else will get any poppies.
02:25And of course, I mean, as we say, it's such a cherished tradition in Canterbury. What
02:31does it mean to you to have gone so many years with that cherished site on the street,
02:37in the high street, many veterans, many volunteers, selling poppies? If that wasn't to happen,
02:44I mean, that must be heartbreaking.
02:47It is heartbreaking. Last year we collected Ā£57,000, and the thought that we won't have
02:53that this year is just devastating.
02:58Now, Jan, remind us, Ā£57,000 you raised last year. Remind us, where does that money go to?
03:06It goes up to head office, and it's then given out to the many veterans who are in need of
03:15help. It might be that they want a wet room or stair lift, and they can't afford those
03:21items. That's where the poppy appeal comes in. We also support Invictus with the English team.
03:30Absolutely, and it's a fantastic movement, the Invictus Games, of course. Also, another
03:36one of the sort of big blows that you're facing at the moment is volunteer numbers. Tell us
03:40what the situation is like. I know that you've had a few of your members of the local branch
03:45actually retiring recently.
03:48Well, yes, we've got three of us. Three of us in the team of seven are over 80, so we
03:56would like to step back, but we can't find anybody to replace us.
04:02What's the kind of goal there, then? Is it to sort of inspire the next generation to
04:09sort of take over the baton? I know there's lots of young cadets in the area, in Canterbury,
04:15of course. What conversations are being had?
04:18Yes, we are affiliated with the cadets, and you're showing pictures, actually, of that
04:28gentleman now. He's in his 80s, and he's been trying to give up for the last seven years.
04:33So we work with the cadets. We've got a cadet who is our standard bearer, so he is invaluable
04:41to us. But of course, if we're appearing at a funeral, supporting a funeral, he can't go
04:48because he's at school. So we have to rely on the gentleman who's trying to retire.
04:54Absolutely, of course. Now, obviously, despite all of this, you're pushing forward with some
04:59Armed Forces Day commemorations. Of course, it's 80 years since VE and VJ Day. It's a big moment.
05:07How are you planning to keep the momentum going at the local branch with everything else that
05:12you're juggling at the moment? Well, Armed Forces Day, which is
05:15June the 28th, we've actually got a parade through the city, and we're going to end up
05:20in Whitefriars with a short service. So people will be able to come and support us on that.
05:26We obviously mark VE Day and VJ Day. VE Day, we lay a wreath and have a short service at the
05:33butter market. VJ Day, we meet in the Westgate Gardens and have a short service there.
05:40Jan, it's been lovely to talk with you this morning, and we do wish you all the best for
05:44the future. Just before we go, what's the sort of one thing that you would say to our viewers to
05:47sort of get them rallying behind the Canterbury Royal British Legion branch? How can we be all
05:52stepping up to help? Please, can somebody find us a room?
05:58There must be a corner that I've missed, even though I've been out practically every day
06:02doing the rounds. And could we have some more volunteers?