The annual Newport Poppy Appeal has launched with the redesigned remembrance symbol.
The Royal British Legion (RBL) launched its 2023 Poppy Appeal in Tesco Spytty where local volunteers will be collecting for the duration of the Poppy Appeal.
Staff from one of (RBL’s) corporate partners, Medequip will be manning the stands in Newport in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday on November 12.
In a touching move, staff from Tesco’s Spitty visited local primary schools and asked children to send in drawings of poppies, to honour the Armed Forces Community in Newport.
The public can now buy the newly designed plastic-free poppy for the first time, it is the first redesign of the iconic symbol of Remembrance in a generation and is the latest in a series of designs since the poppy was first used to raise funds in 1921.
The new design features the iconic poppy shape with a black centre embossed with ‘Poppy Appeal’, and a leaf with a crease. It no longer has a plastic stem or centre; a stick-on version is also available.
RBL has been developing the plastic-free poppy for three years in a bid to become more economical, sustainable, and less impactful to the environment.
The launch of RBL’s Poppy Appeal marks the start of the national period of remembrance when the nation wears the poppy and reflects on the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces.
Veteran Bronwyn Wilkinson,31, from Neath in South Wales, had the honour of being one of the first people to wear the new poppy.
Ms Wilkinson served as a medic from October 2010 to October 2020, until she was medically discharged in 2020 due to a severe hip injury.
Being discharged impacted Bronwyn’s mental health, however, through attending a Veterans Multi Activity Course at the Royal British Legion’s Battle Back Centre and workshops with Bravo 22 the veteran’s health improved.
Ms Wilkinson said: “That was the turning point of me going from what is the point in living? I should just be dead because it is easier to I am not worthless. Because they focus on what you can do.”
The veteran thanked RBL for ‘saving her life’ and through the public’s donations the money not only helped her but gave her mum and dad their lives back.
Director of the RBL Poppy Appeal, Andy Taylor-Whyte said: “Since the first Poppy Appeal in 1921 to today, public donations have provided a lifeline for service people and their families, and last year, we helped more than 27,000 people in the Armed Forces community.
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