Bury St Edmunds Poppy Appeal going strong in the run up to Remembrance Sunday 2025

This year’s Poppy Appeal in Bury St Edmunds is set to be another record breaker as volunteers continue to fund-raise for the armed forces community.

On Saturday, October 25, the first official poppy was presented to the Town Mayor, Cllr Donna Higgins, at the arc Shopping Centre by Jacqui Bates, Poppy Appeal organiser for the town.

Jacqui hopes that the poppy presentation to the mayor will now become a tradition.

She said: “This year’s appeal has been well supported by the people of Bury St Edmunds as always.

“It is going extremely well.”

The 2024 appeal was a record-breaking one for the town, and Jacqui expects it will meet or exceed its record this time around.

This is partly thanks to contactless payments and QR codes, which people can use to donate if they don’t have cash.

Jacqui said: “The launch event was very busy, people were trying to donate as we were setting up.

“You do worry year on year as we are in a cost of living crisis but families will give the last penny in their pocket.

“I love Bury, the people will always come up and talk to you and are very friendly and polite.”

Since the launch, collections throughout the town have been led by veterans, army cadets, air cadets, sea cadets, as well as Combat2Coffee.

Schoolchildren have been learning about the Poppy Appeal, thanks to presentations led by organisers.

They are also given packs of poppies and other items to sell within the school.

This year’s appeal has focussed on the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on veterans.

Jacqui, who served in the RAF reserves for 18 years, said: “I want to thank my four deputy organisers, without their unwavering support, we couldn’t produce what we produce every year.”

Volunteers have been manning stalls at Asda, B&Q, Sainsburys, Tesco and Waitrose.

Final collections for the appeal will take place on Saturday, ahead of Remembrance Sunday.