Home-made appeal

It might sound ridiculous to convert a mobility scooter into a cardboard-armoured tank, but the reality of the undertaking by Eddie Wadsworth, aged 85, could only provoke a thankful smile – or even bring a tear to the eye. For Mr Wadsworth has gone about his task seriously, using skills from his career as a carpenter to build an eye-catching mobile base from which to collect money for the Poppy Appeal, out and about in Swadlincote, Derbyshire. His waterproof-jacketed shoulders and furry-helmeted head are all that can be seen protruding from the little turret of the vehicle. His own father died at Anzio in 1944. “I hope it commemorates my father’s death and all the others who died in wars,” he said straightforwardly. Another 40,000 volunteers do something similar. No history lesson could teach as much.