LAST YEAR’S commemorations of the centenary of the start of the First World War were as varied as they were poignant.

They engendered a new interest in both the causes and effects of the conflict but also in the importance of remembering the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who lost their lives.

The telling, and re-telling, of individual family stories did much to raise that awareness.

And it is a testament to that new awareness that the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal has recorded such a successful year, raising a staggering £40m in the UK.

In Gwent alone fundraisers here amassed almost £300,000, an increase of nearly £20,000 on the previous year’s appeal.

When the local appeal was launched in Newport on a wet day in October it did so with a donation from the Argus of £3,200, a share of the sponsorship and advertising carried in our Gwent’s Great War supplement.

We are delighted to have played a part in helping the fundraising for an appeal which is close to the hearts of so many.

As we have said before the Poppy Appeal is not just about remembering the soldiers lost 100 years ago.

But it is about remembering all those lost in conflicts since that then.

And more importantly it is about helping those who have experienced war recently and now need help and support.