REMEMBRANCE Day is Saturday, November 11 and Remembrance Sunday this year will be November 12, with services in Redditch at St Stephen's Church (town centre), St Matthias and St George Church (Astwood Bank) and Webheath Village Hall.
May I take the opportunity, through the pages of your newspaper, to urge everyone to support however they can this year's Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.
Each year Remembrance Day provides a focal point and common aim for communities throughout the country.
Many service personnel are able to return from conflict to their homes and readapt to civilian life. Sadly, others are not so fortunate.
Formed after Armistice some 81 years ago, the Poppy Appeal exists to help former servicemen and women and others like them from conflicts going back to the First World War.
The Poppy Appeal supports those who have defended our country or helped to keep the peace with the United Nations in other parts of the world.
Today, British servicemen and women are playing a vital role as part of the UN Peace Keeping Force in places around the world.
When they leave the forces, the Poppy Appeal will be there for them, and their dependants, as it is for the veterans of the two world wars, the Gulf War, the Falklands War and many other conflicts.
The appeal plays a key part in the British Legion's fund-raising efforts and is essential for its work.
As a charity, it is entirely reliant on public support for funding and all money raised by the Poppy Appeal goes directly to support the Royal British Legion's work.
The first Poppy Appeal of the new millennium has been launched with the aim to increase the 1999 figure of £18.7 million to £20 million for 2000.
The appeal will climax with a special event at the Millennium Dome on Saturday, which will involve 2000 children linking up to form a Circle of Remembrance at 11am, with some of the children accompanying the Millennium torch from the Cenotaph to the Royal Albert Hall later that afternoon. This event symbolises peace and hope for the future.
Please give what you can when you see the poppy seller to help them to help people who have given so much to preserve our security and freedom.
Councillor Mark Shurmer
Mayor of Redditch
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