Tameside's Poppy Appeal begins this Saturday

Tameside’s Poppy Appeal launches this Saturday, with people being asked to support the Royal British Legion after a tough year.

Remembrance Day will look somewhat different this year, with people being asked to stay away from cenotaphs and memorials to instead remember at home.

However, the Royal British Legion still rely on donations to help the continue their work throughout the year.

Last year Tameside raised £85,000 for the RBL through the purchase of poppies and other items, and while the charity expect the total to be lower this year, they’re hopeful that the borough will still support them as they always do.

Alex Kershaw, Poppy Appeal Organiser at the Royal British Legion’s Ashton branch said: “The charity is there to support the armed services community, not only the past but present communities as well.

“We do a lot of work through the year to support veterans.

“As you can appreciate a lot of our events throughout the year, like tulip Sunday and different events around Tameside, have been cancelled unfortunately.

“Our main income is the poppy appeal which we’re starting on Saturday. We do believe were not going to raise as much as last year. Last year raised around £85,000 from Ashton. I don’t think we’ll get that but we’ll get some good donations in - the people of Ashton and Tameside are good at supporting our charity. It’s not just all about putting your hands in your pockets we can do contactless payments.”