VISITING veterans who have helped with this year’s annual Poppy Appeal have spoken warmly about the support received from Islanders in the build-up to Remembrance Sunday.
A trio of Chelsea pensioners, distinguishable from a long way off by their trademark red coats, have been helping with fundraising in St Helier, as well as attending a series of events to mark the contribution of the Armed Forces and remember those who died in service.
Phil Carr, who served with the Royal Artillery in Northern Ireland and is visiting Jersey for the first time, said he had been impressed with the support from those he met.
“The spirit of the Poppy Appeal is very much alive and kicking in Jersey,” he said. “If anything people here seem to have a greater awareness [than in the UK] – they’ve been very hospitable and we’ve had people of all generations coming to speak to us and showing an interest.”
Mr Carr was joined by colleagues Alan Gill, who served with the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Iraq, and John Cole, who was stationed in Northern Ireland with the Royal Signals, and also served in Singapore during the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation in the 1960s.
Around 280 veterans live at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, south-west London, which was founded in 1692 – around 230 years prior to poppies first being worn as a mark of remembrance.
The visitors are being hosted by the Jersey branch of the Royal British Legion and will be heavily involved in this weekend’s acts of remembrance before returning to London on Monday.
