A sad farewell and a thank you

After 37 eventful, exciting and sometimes exhausting years as Selsey’s Poppy

Appeal Organiser (PAO) I have reluctantly decided that the time has come for me to retire.

May I thank the Chichester Observer for the numerous occasions during that time that it carried articles about the appeal keeping it in the minds of the good people of Selsey and often resulting in recruitment of more collectors.

In 1983 the then PAO had to suddenly retire on health grounds and try as we might we could find no-one to take over. I was reluctant to do so as I was already the chairman of Selsey Branch, Royal British Legion as well as the Parade Marshal for our annual Service of Remembrance.

But I could not stand by and see it die (after all at the time, apart from anything else, I was still a serving soldier)

And so I uttered those fateful words “Right, I’ll do it this year and that gives us nine or ten months to find someone permanent”. We found him – Me.

Together with my wife, my two pre-teenage daughters and some branch committee members we somehow muddled through. It was a struggle because none of us had much idea of what we were doing. I seem to remember that in that first year we collected about £1,500.

But things took off in leaps and bounds and within a few years we were fully organised and running well.

As I now hand over to my successor as PAO I do so with a team of collectors which has gone from the original 20 or so to over 60 and annual total of money collected to frequently over £10.000. Indeed I actually hand over a record total ending 30 September of £11,605.53.

I am acutely aware that much of that increase has been due to the publicity given by the Chichester Observer. I remember a report being made early on soon after I took over. Unfortunately, the earliest photo I can find is from 1998 of me holding up a collecting tin like an old time mendicant begging for collectors.

It worked. The last photo and report that you did for us was in 2017 of me and my two daughters, Kim and Tina, both of whom are the only collectors in Selsey (apart from me) to have received their 30 years service medal. That report had a tremendous effect in Selsey and indeed led to my being interviewed on Spirit FM.

May I take this opportunity to say a big thank you and a fond farewell to all the generous people of Selsey and especially to the many collectors, many of whom have braved everything the sometimes awful weather Selsey could throw at them to carry out their task. Wonderful people.

Thank you once again Chichester Observer for all your help in the past and I feel sure that you will continue to give your full support to those ex-service men and women who so richly deserve our help.

At the going down of the sun

And in the morning

We will remember them ADRIANWILSON

PAO (retired) Chichester Road

Selsey