Poppies are due to go on sale in Brighton and Hove from Thursday (26 October) with supermarkets, shops and restaurants supporting the annual Royal British Legion fundraising campaign.
The reliance on retailers comes after the long-serving poppy appeal organiser for the area stepped down and the Legion was unable to recruit a replacement in time to co-ordinate this year’s appeal.
The Legion’s poppy appeal manager for the south east, Graham Ferris, told the BBC that a local poppy appeal organiser would have to oversee orders and deliveries, collect money and deal with “a lot of paperwork”.
It’s the biggest fundraiser of the year and the money that is generated goes towards supporting the Legion’s work with Britain’s armed forces veterans.
Mr Ferris told BBC Radio Sussex: “Sadly, our long-serving and loyal poppy appeal organiser for central Brighton stepped down recently and we need a replacement.
“To be perfectly honest, there won’t be enough time to recruit somebody for that role for this year because it carries a lot of responsibility.
“But we will make sure that poppies will be available for anyone who wants them across the city centre.”
The Legion’s poppy appeal manager for Sussex, Lauryn Francis, said: “We want to reassure the people of Brighton that, as usual, they will be able to get a Remembrance poppy this year, including our new plastic-free version.
“In Brighton and Hove, poppies will be available in supermarkets – including Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons and One Stop – and our poppy collectors will be in suburbs including Patcham and Woodingdean.
“We’re incredibly grateful to all our dedicated volunteers in Brighton and across the UK who help us to run the poppy appeal.
“We want to encourage everyone to get a poppy this year and show the armed forces they care.
“The money raised from the Royal British Legion’s poppy appeal helps veterans and their families all year round.
“We would also like to encourage all those who are interested in supporting us to get in touch via our website rbl.org.uk/poppyappeal.”
I have heard (unconfirmed) that there will be now one person on the streets of the City selling poppies!