RBL fundraising success
LAST year proved another successful one for the Royal British Legion (RBL) Kyrenia branch, with nearly 40 fundraising events spread throughout the year. In addition we have further cemented our links with the three branches in the south — Larnaca, Limassol and Paphos — with a meeting in South Nicosia last summer. The final total raised for the 2017 Poppy Appeal was £23,403, which means that in just six years the branch has raised in excess of £91,000 for the appeal, an amazing amount for an overseas branch in an unrecognised country!
Along with the committee I am very proud of the achievements that the branch has made in 2017 and we look forward to another successful year in 2018 where our flagship event will be the Poppy Gala at the Savoy Ottoman Palace hotel on Friday, June 1, with the entertainment once again travelling from the UK to perform for us. We are also holding two Poppy Walks for the first time this year; one in the east at Alagadi beach in mid-October then another in Lapta one week later.
Our branch will be represented at the “Great Pilgrimage 90” event in France and Belgium in August by our standard-bearer Kim Tyler, with our branch standard, and his wife Jenny who will lay a wreath on behalf of the branch at the Menin Gate memorial. The Royal British Legion is recreating its 1928 pilgrimage to World War One battlefields for thousands of Legion members and this event is set to be the largest single event ever organised by RBL HQ. We are one of many overseas Branches who will be in attendance, a proud moment indeed. For further details please visit: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/what-we-remember/greatpilgrimage-90-for-members/.
Of course none of our events would be possible without the support of our members, to whom I offer my sincere thanks for your ongoing support of the RBL and all that it stands for. I hope that your support will continue in 2018. If your membership has lapsed then please get in touch with our membership secretary Martin Derbyshire by emailing: members@rblkyrenia.com.