Our veterans still need support, with or without a poppy
Like so much else in 2020, Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day have a very different feel to them this year. Where are the poppy sellers on the high street or at the railway station – indeed, where are the people on the high street, let alone travelling on the railway? In-person fundraising on the streets has been cancelled, and although the Royal British Legion has made a valiant attempt to arrange online poppy sales and virtual commemorations, apart from news presenters on the BBC and Strictly Come Dancing contestants, there are not many poppies on lapels in evidence this year. Does it matter?
Well, of course it matters, hugely. Not only is the Royal British Legion the largest military charity, which relies on the annual Poppy Appeal for about 30 per cent of its income in order to support veterans and their families, but the charity is the custodian of remembrance within the nation.
It is the RBL that fills the Royal Albert Hall for the Festival of Remembrance every year on the Saturday before Remembrance Sunday, and organises 10,000 veterans to march together past the Cenotaph on the day itself. These national events are mirrored in a more modest way all across the country and overseas where there are large British expatriate communities.
These acts of remembrance, be they large or small, are an essential part of the fabric of the nation as we pause for two minutes at 11am on Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day and reflect with great gratitude on the service and sacrifice of millions of servicemen and women who have fought and fallen for our peace and freedom. Some may take these things for granted, but we must never forget the price paid in blood and treasure for the life we lead today.
And although remembering and giving thanks is important in itself, for those who fought in the Second World War and a score of campaigns since, their fight continues. Many are still living with physical injuries and many more are battling with psychological injuries, while the bereaved never recover from the pain of a loved one lost in conflict. The RBL supports all of these people with the money it receives. The millions of pounds it is set to lose in Poppy Appeal donations this year is a major blow to the support it can give to our veterans and their families. The loss of income is being experienced by all the other service charities, too.
The pressures on the Chancellor from all dimensions of our economy are huge, but there is a limit to what the Government can do. If our veterans are still to receive the support they need, we as a nation must remember that the price for our freedom still has to be paid every year. We may not have been able to pin a poppy on our lapels this November, but we can still put our hand in our pocket and support those who have fought and died on our behalf.