Sponsored by
Thank you for your generosity - Royal British Legion
gratitude: Martin Phillips and Keith Burns, the kayakers that helped boost Ramsey Royal British Legions total by �3,200
MEMBERS of the Ramsey branch of the Royal British Legion have thanked the people of their north for the generosity which has meant that this year’s poppy appeal total has topped a record-breaking £15,000.
The impressive figure is for Ramsey and its districts alone, and will make up a huge chunk of the island’s total, considering in 2011 the combined Isle of Man branches presented £20,000 to the military cause.
Billy Littlewood, honorary poppy appeal organiser for Ramsey and District said: ‘We have raised the mighty sum of £15,001.74 to date for the 2011/12 poppy appeal. This is an incredible sum and with the appeal running until September 30, there is still time to raise even more!’
Mr Littlewood added: ‘Sincere thanks to all the collectors, retail outlets and associations for all their help in raising this amount for the annual appeal. Once again, this reflects on the generosity of the people in the north of the island and again, we thank you all for your support.’
Chairman of the Ramsey branch of the Royal British Legion Raymond Ferguson reflected on the five-figure total.
‘We’ve beaten all previous years, and we’ve still got till September,’ said Mr Ferguson. ‘The last few years have gone well. Last year we did £13,000, it just keeps going up and up.’
The money all goes to the British Isles’ central poppy appeal fund, which helps members and ex-members of the armed forces and their families, most notably supporting injured soldiers.
The Royal British Legion itself is on for a record year, on course to hit £40 million for the 2011/12 appeal.
As far as the Ramsey branch is concerned, what has made the last 12 months such a bumper year?
‘We haven’t done anything different! I think we’re always very lucky. It’s down to the generosity of the people,’ said Mr Ferguson. ‘We do get a lot of donations, and have events like the Poppy Concert which Ramsey Town Band do for us every year. And occasionally we get left money from wills, but the vast majority is just from the general public, and having collections.’
He added: ‘This year the Royal British Legion celebrated its 90th anniversary, so that would have helped raise awareness, there was a special ‘Peace and Reconciliation’ concert at the Villa Marina in November. Two intrepid guys kayaked around the island for us too.’
He is talking about Jurby prison officers Keith Burns and Martin Phillips, who kayaked around the island in a remarkable 21 hours, raising £3,200 in the process.
‘They came up with the idea, and came to us,’ recalled Mr Ferguson. ‘We just supplied the kayaks, and we donated them to the Sea Cadets afterwards.’
Also Ramsey Rowing Club hosted its sixth annual novice rowing challenge at Mooragh Park in June, greeted sunshine and crowds, raising £700 for the Royal British Legion and the club’s own project to build a water sports centre in Ramsey.
It all helped, along with the traditional bucket shaking around town, to help the Ramsey branch on to their all time highest total.
That amount of money must measure up well against areas across the British Isles with similar demographics to the island’s north?
‘I don’t know off hand how it compares to other districts, but obviously £15,000 is an exceptional contribution,’ said Mr Ferguson. ‘The Isle of Man as a whole has won the Poppy Shield – awarded to the area with the highest amount raised per capita – more times than anywhere else. It’s almost a permanent award!’
With money still coming in, there is potential for the total to stretch records even further, though the chairman is cautious of setting any new targets.
‘Donations and collections tend to taper off at this time of year, especially compared to the height, which is November, around Remembrance Day,’ he said.
‘But now is a good opportunity to say thank you to the people of the area for their support.’
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Isle of Man
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 23 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 7 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: North west
