Birkenhead Royal British Legion, the world’s first, breaks its own Poppy Appeal record for the second year running

Dec 22 2010 by Matt Hurst, Heswall News

THE world’s first Royal British Legion smashed its own Poppy Appeal record for the second time running, just two years after coming close to extinction.

The Birkenhead branch of the charitable organisation that cares for ex-servicemen and their dependents delivered an astonishing £53,000 return, from just two weeks collecting in 2009.

That represented a 25% increase on all previous efforts, but now the team of 30 volunteers have bettered even that.

Newly released figures show, between October 28 and November 11, an incredible £58,000 was donated by residents of the branch’s two patches, Birkenhead and West Kirby – another 10% rise, even as the recession continues to bite.

Tanya Cawood, chairman of the Park Road East based Legion, said: “We didn’t even think we would reach the record last year, so to do it again this year was an extra bonus.

“As we were counting and banking the money, the total kept coming up.

“We all looked at each other and said, this has already beaten last year’s total, but even when we did beat it, we didn’t think it would be by over £5,000.”

Opened in 1921 by Sir Frederick Lister, the Birkenhead branch faced closure in October 2008 as the number of volunteers dried up and the grand seven-storey building faced mounting maintenance bills.

Tanya, who put herself forward soon after, said: “It would have been a real shame to close it down, because it’s where it all started.”

And with many of the regional Mercian Regiment hailing from the town, Birkonians soon rallied round.

That generosity has continued and the building has just benefited from a major refurbishment programme that should see it thrive for decades to come.

Tanya said: “The branch was in a derelict state, but we’ve had the windows double glazed, the roof repaired and the kitchen replaced, plus decorating on all levels, the floors sanded down, and the alarm system repaired.

Tanya said: “Words can’t tell anyone how grateful we are because without the money they give, especially every Poppy Appeal, we couldn’t carry on doing our work.”