Lorry boss’ s Legion deal over logos
Painted lorry can be used for fundraising
CHARITY: A haulage firm boss who raises money for the Royal British Legion with her decorated truck has come to an agreement with the charity after it threatened her with legal action.
A HAULAGE firm boss who raises money for the Royal British Legion with her decorated truck has come to an agreement with the charity after it threatened her with legal action.
Christine Langham, from Sunk Island, near Hull, is well known at events around the country with her crowd-pulling Poppy Truck, hand-painted with images from both world wars.
But she was left in a tight spot after the Royal British Legion threatened legal action, unless she gave up her trademark “Team Poppy and the Poppy Truck” because it would “potentially damage” its brand.
After she faced a number of false accusations on social media, Mrs Langham decided to relinquish the trademark, but as part of an agreement, she does not have to alter the truck, and can continue to attend events. And she had also been given a clean bill of health by the Legion, which carried out an audit last year – silencing a minority who accused her of being a “fraud”.
Mrs Langham said it was a huge relief: “The last few months have taken their toll. At one stage I was going to shut it all down. I’ve been called a fraud, a liar and ‘doing it for money to rip the public off ’. That really got to me. If you
All those who ever doubted it are going to have egg on their face.
Christine Langham, from Sunk Island, near Hull,
wanted to carry out a scam, you wouldn’t go to the kind of expense I went to – buying a truck for £80,000, spending up to £20,000 doing it up, plus running costs, all for a couple of hundred quid.
“All those people who ever doubted it are going to have egg on their face. On the other hand I’ve had lots of support – some people were even threatening to cancel their membership. My followers on Facebook gave me the strength to carry on. I am not going to let them down.”
Mrs Langham says relatives who have lost loved ones find huge comfort in the truck, which she has kept adding to, most recently with a scene of Hull’s Blitz and Passchendaele on the doors.
The artwork is by Hull artist Keith Holmes. “It’s my way of saying thanks,” she said. And she said the truck helps breathe new life into the Legion as it helps convey the message to younger generations.
Mrs Langham will be unveiling her new “supporting the Royal British Legion” logo at the first of 20 events she will attend this year, Peterborough Truck Show, on May 5. A joint statement said the Royal British Legion was delighted to have come to a deal, including an “In-Support Agreement” which authorises her to continue to fundraise using the Poppy Truck.
It added: “We look forward to seeing the supporters of the Poppy Truck in the year ahead.”