Sponsor A Poppy For The Mansfield Display

2nd October 2017

News, Mansfield

Crafters have been busy making poppies for Mansfield District Council’s Poppy Parade project for the past six months and now more than 4100 have been donated.

The deadline has now passed for the public to hand in their poppies but everyone is encouraged to help on the next part of the project by sponsoring a poppy to raise money for the Royal British Legion (RBL).

The public can visit events on Mansfield Market Place in October and attach a poppy for a donation of £1 to raise vital funds to support the Armed Forces community.

Dates and times when the public can get involved are:

Sunday 1 October: Artisan and Craft Market, 11am to 3pm
Wednesday 11 October: International Mini Market, 11am to 3pm
Sunday 22 October: Car Show, 11am to 3pm
Tuesday 24 - Saturday 28 October: half-term ghost hunt, 11am to 2pm.

Poppies will be attached to netting and messages of condolence can be added to a commemoration board as a way of marking respect for those who have fought for our country.

Once poppies are attached, they will be draped over the front of the Old Town Hall in the Market Place ready for the RBL’s Remembrance Day parade on Sunday 12 November.

The parade will start at Mansfield Civic Centre and head down Chesterfield Road and into town via West Gate and onto St Peter’s Church. After the service the parade will stop at the Old Town Hall for veterans to perform a salute of honour at the poppy display before it leads back to the Civic Centre.

Cllr Dave Saunders, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth, said: “We’ve had an overwhelming amount of support so far for the project so I can’t thank the community enough for their good will.

“We’re asking for the public’s support once again as we begin to attach the poppies and raise money for the Legion. We’re sure the community will pull together to help make this a successful project.”

Sophia Snell, Community Fundraising Manager for the region at Royal British Legion, said: “We are thrilled that more than 4100 poppies have been created for this project, they will help us raise much-needed funds for the Armed Forces community, past and present, in Mansfield. The woollen poppies are absolutely stunning and I can’t wait to see the finished display.”

There have been hundreds of bags of poppies delivered to the Civic Centre over the past six months, many of them left anonymously, but for those whose names were included, the council and RBL would like to thank them:

Ann Creasey

Barbara Priest

Cindy Boot

Miss C Griffins

Mrs Carole A. Berrill

Mrs D Gowan

Mrs Doreen Hedison

Doreen Parkin

Flint Avenue Community Centre bingo group

Mrs G Smith

Mrs Hunt

Janine Millichip