Devoted Mrs Poppy raises

Above, Vera Parnaby auctioning off a signed Newcastle United shirt for the 2005 poppy appeal, below , Vera Parnaby is given Durham County Council’s Chairman’s Medal by Linda Marshall, at a ceremony in 2013 Reporters A POPPY seller has raised more than £1m in 73 YEARS of selfless devotion to the Royal British Legion. At just six years old, Vera Parnaby began her work with her mum, a Second World War widow. Now 79, the “incredible” great-gran is nicknamed ‘Mrs Poppy’ and surrounded by gifts after raising £1m for service personnel and their families. She drinks tea from a China poppy cup and has poppy ornaments on display all around her home - with visitors welcomed by a poppy mat. “I do like poppies,” she said, “and people keep buying me things.” She took over as co-ordinator of the Poppy Appeal in her hometown of Consett, County Durham, 23 years ago.

In that time, £369,067.20.

But she has been helping to sell poppies every autumn for the last 73 years.

This week, the Royal British Legion said the total sum she has raised was “well in excess of £1m”.

Modestly, Vera described it as “a canny bit”.

“I wouldn’t like to put a figure on it,” she joked. She is nicknamed ‘Mrs Poppy’ - because everyone knows her from her fundraising. “I started on my very first day selling on Consett market square,” she recalled.

“But I have sold poppies house to house, on the street, I have done it with all my children. My great-grandson took his first steps when were were counting the money from a collection.

He was pushing the empty tins around and when he saw her, he stood up to move towards her. “We raised more than £34,000 last year - people are very kind.”

She said her children Alison, 45, Gillian, 51, and Colin, 53, grandchildren Nicola, 27 and Laura, 22, and Laura’s son Brooklyn - Vera’s great-grandson - had all been involved. The death of her father in 1942 had inspired Vera to work for others, as her mother helped she has raised

Vera Parnaby from Consett who has raised over a £1m in 73 years for the poppy appeal

A new ‘Tommy’ memorial will be unveiled in Washington this weekend paying tribute to the 100-year anniversary of the end of the First World War.Earlier this year, plans were submitted to Sunderland City Council for a ‘Kneeling War Memorial’ in Washington Village by the cenotaph off Spout Lane.The statue will be constructed out of black metal and depicts a kneeling soldier contemplating a burial cross.In the run-up to November 11, several businesses and community groups donated time and labour to bring the project to life.However, the initial spark of the idea came from chairman of Washington Bloom Society (WBS), Joan Atkinson and Clifford Chapman of local firm Clifford Chapman Staircases.In a joint statement, they said: “This week that idea came to fruition with the installation of a black metal kneeling soldier holding his grounded rifle in his right hand.“His hat is removed in reverence to the unmarked grave as the armistice came into force on the 11th hour on the 11th of November 1918.“The installation is a simple statement of bravery and sadness of those who gave their lives for their country and the freedom we all enjoy today.”The statue will be unveiled by Washington and Sunderland West MP, Sharon Hodgson, as part of remembrance events today.A service will start at Holy Trinity Church in Washington at 9.30am before a procession to the cenotaph.Representatives from the Royal British Legion and other dignitaries are also expected to attend.