Northwich Poppy Appeal raises £38k for Royal British Legion

Between October 25 and November 9, 45 men, women, and children spent a total of 405 man-hours at three supermarkets across the town, taking donations and giving out poppies for the 103-year-old armed forces charity’s annual Poppy Appeal.

This year’s appeal was especially poignant as the RBL’s area coordinator for Northwich, Terry Gamble, sadly died earlier in the year.  

As RBL is yet to fill his role, this year some of Terry's band of regular poppy sellers had to rally round to make ensure it all went off without a hitch. 

Julian Williams, who at appeal time usually mans an RBL donation station at Tesco on Manchester Road, stepped into the role of coordinator alongside fellow volunteer, Victoria Buckley. 

What’s more, the pair couldn’t lay their hands on Terry's list of regular volunteers, so the two new deputy coordinators had to start recruiting pretty much from scratch.

Whole families got involved in this year's Northwich Poppy Appeal (Image: Julian Williams) After pooling their contact lists and a very successful Facebook appeal, dream team Julian and Victoria managed to pull together a band of 45 doughty volunteers, including several of ex-servicemen and women who live in the area.  

Despite the difficulties, Julian said he was ‘over the moon’ when the takings for this year’s Poppy Appeal were finally totted up.  

Chris and Adele Calaz did more than 30 hours manning stands over the course of the appeal (Image: Julian Williams)

He added: “To raise £38,000 in 17 days is just unbelievable in a town the size of Northwich, especially since the odds seemed stacked against us.

“But Northwich is brilliant at supporting its veterans. Honestly, it makes me very proud.

Victoria Buckley (left) and Julian Williams stepped into the role of deputy volunteer coordinators after the sad death of Northwich RBL's area coordinator, Terry Gamble (Image: Julian Williams) “We managed to fill 405 volunteer hours over a 17-day period.

“Some people did one hour, but one guy did more than 30.

“Another lady did 25 hours with her kids because it was half term. Bless them, they spent most of their school holiday selling poppies. But they seem to enjoy it.

“It’s a very rewarding thing to do because of all the charities who have a presence on the high street, RBL is the one which seems to hit home with the most people.

Mid Cheshire MP, Andrew Cooper, making his Poppy Appeal donation the modern way (Image: Julian Williams)

“When people come over to donate and collect their poppy, they often thank you personally for giving up your time. It’s a wonderful experience."

The Poppy Appeal is RBL’s biggest fundraising campaign, held every year in November, during the period of Remembrance.

Donations help those who have served in the armed forces cope with trauma and live the full and rewarding lives they deserve.

Julian added: “The money is used to support ex-servicemen and women who might be disabled, and also their widows. Trust me, it makes a massive difference.

“Vic and I would like to public thank everyone who volunteered, and all the people in Northwich who were kind enough to support this year’s appeal.”