Jeff Brazier Has Joined Forces with Poppy Collectors in Essex to Launch The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal

The Poppy Appeal 2019 launches with a host of undercover celebrities hidden amongst the Legion’s 40,000 collectors across the UK

Jeff Brazier is one of a number of famous faces from the worlds of music and entertainment who have undertaken a special mission to launch The Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal 2019. The covert operation revealed today by the Legion with support from GCHQ, the Government’s intelligence, cyber and security agency, saw the household names deployed on ‘Operation Poppy’.

Jeff teamed up with Poppy Appeal Collectors from Essex to shine a light on their fundraising endeavours and highlight how the money raised is being used to support serving and ex-serving personnel and their families.

The Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal takes place from 24 October until Armistice Day on 11 November. Proceeds raised during this vital fundraising period are used to provide life-long support to serving and ex-serving members of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants through hardships, injuries and bereavements. This year’s Poppy Appeal will focus on the unseen service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces past and present, and is being supported by GCHQ – most famously known for their years at Bletchley Park where ingenious minds broke enemy Enigma codes helping shorten WWII; their mission to protect the military continues today.

Joanne Ticehurst, Community Fundraising Manager for the East, said: “The undercover celebrity collectors are a fun and engaging way to celebrate this year’s Poppy Appeal launch, but there is a serious message at its heart. Life for those in the Armed Forces community comes with a whole host of challenges and difficulties – from those that endure the daily sacrifice of being away from loved ones, to those carrying out roles that so often go unnoticed.

“This year is all about telling the hidden stories of our Armed Forces who provide an incredible service to our country in all kinds of ways, and telling the stories of the collectors who volunteer every year to show their support for them. Every Poppy Appeal collector has a unique story to tell so we’re asking the public to look out for them, make a donation and wear their poppy with pride.”

Jeff says: “I loved spending the afternoon Poppy Collecting with Laura the Essex Community Fundraiser as part of The Royal British Legion’s ‘Operation Poppy’. It was brilliant to see first-hand the generosity of people in Harlow and the dedication of the Poppy Collectors and fundraising team who work tirelessly to support The Royal British Legion and help the Armed Forces community.

“Simply from an afternoon Poppy Collecting you can see how huge the Armed Forces community is and how each person and Poppy Collector has their own unique story to tell about what the Poppy Appeal means to them. Over the coming weeks, please look out for your local collector, make a donation and wear your poppy with pride.”

Operation Poppy represents the first of many activities that will be taking place over the course of the 2019 Poppy Appeal in recognition of the unseen contributions of our Armed Forces. More than 40 million paper poppies, 500,000 poppies of other types, 5 million Remembrance petals, 100,000 wreaths and sprays, 750,000 Remembrance Crosses and other Remembrance items are distributed each year.