War vet who sold £1m of poppies dies
Test-tube lion cubs raise hope for big cats’ survival
WAR veteran Norman Brown – who single-handedly raised £1million by selling poppies – has died aged 92.
Norman, who served with the Royal Engineers in France and Belgium during the Second World War, raised the sum by collecting for the Royal British Legion in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday.
The Legion provided the guard of honour as his coffin was brought into a chapel at Wessex Vale Crematorium, Southampton, for a service of thanksgiving.
Mr Brown, from Eastleigh, Hants, was the backbone of Hampshire's Poppy Appeal for more than 20 years and president of his local branch of The Royal British Legion.
In 2009, he was made an MBE for his service to the organisation. THE birth of the world’s first “test-tube” lion cubs could mark a breakthrough in saving other endangered big cats from extinction, scientists claim.
A week ago a lioness gave birth to the male and female cubs at the Ukutula Game Reserve & Conservation Centre in South Africa – the first time it had been achieved through artificial insemination.
Researchers at the University of Pretoria pioneered the fertilisation programme and the two youngsters, above, have been given a clean bill of health.
It is hoped the breakthrough may lead to the successful IVF breeding of endangered big cats such as the tiger, snow leopard and Iberian lynx.
Main researcher Dr Isabel Callealta said: “The next step is to continue looking for the right protocols for the large feline species, which is good news for endangered big cats.”
The owner of Ukutula Game Reserve & Conservation Centre Willi Jacobs, 60, said: “They are both absolutely perfect cubs in every way. They are happy, healthy and playful – and leading us a merry dance.
‘We decided to honour the researcher Isabella by naming the female cub after her and the male after her fiance Victor.”