Fundraiser Finley, 7, is thanked by PM for his war memorial efforts
A DERBY seven-year-old who has raised thousands of pounds for the city’s War Memorial Village has been thanked personally by Boris Johnson for his hard work.
Finley Skinner, who has been making and selling poppies since he was five, met the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, two months after Mr Johnson’s chief of staff Steve Barclay visited the memorial and asked to meet Finley.
He then invited the youngster and his family to meet Mr Johnson.
But it wasn’t just Finley, mum Rachel and dad Jason who were photographed outside the famous black door and in the No 10 garden meeting the Prime Minister.
Finley, a pupil at Chellaston Infants School, also brought along his mascot Ted E Bear, who is dressed in khaki and is, he told Mr Johnson, a member of the “Bear Force”. A video released by the Government showed Finley and Ted sitting in the PM’s seat in the Cabinet Room after being invited to do so by Mr Barclay.
Finley says he started making poppies because his great-grandfather fought in the Second World War. To date, he has raised £2,409 for the memorial village in Shelton Lock, which has been used to recondition the statue of a soldier at the site.
He and his family travelled to London by car and checked into the Premier Inn in Stratford, where Finley was given extra special treatment by staff. He also managed to squeeze in a trip to see The Lion King before rushing to Downing Street.
Finley said: “We went to the theatre but we had to be quick getting changed.” Mum Rachel said everybody wanted to say hello to the teddy bear – including the Prime Minister.
She said: “Finley had such a big smile on his face, I wish you could see him. He can confirm that the Prime Minister’s official residence is “massive!”.”
Not only did Finley get to sit in Mr Johnson’s chair while at Downing Street, he was also allowed to sit in the chair of wartime prime minister Sir Winston Churchill – an experience that Finley said was very special.
While in the Downing Street garden, he also got to see Dilyn, Mr Johnson’s dog, running around. Both Finley and Ted got a warm “well done” from the Prime Minister.
Finley described his trip to London as “fantastic” and when asked what his favourite thing about the city was, he replied “everything”.
Mr Barclay said: “I met Finley when I visited Derby recently and was hugely impressed with his fundraising efforts on behalf of veterans in the city. I was therefore delighted to invite and welcome him into Downing Street during Armed Forces Week as a small ‘thank you’ for his outstanding work.
“People like Finley and the amazing charities that support ex-service personnel are a really important part of the Government’s work to make the UK the best place in the world to be a veteran.
“That means doing everything we can to ensure they have proper access to targeted healthcare support and also employment opportunities so their vital skills can be deployed in a variety of sectors including cyber security, logistics and the prison service.”
Next, Finley hopes to raise more money by helping to organise this year’s carol service at St Edmund’s Parish Church in Shelton Lock. He also hopes to set up a festival concert next year at Hippo Park in Chellaston (off Chestnut Avenue).
He said: “I want to do a festival concert and it is going to be really big. We might be able to get one of those big trucks with music stands – but I forgot to ask Boris for one.”