A Teignmouth couple have celebrated their 30 year anniversary of organising the town’s Poppy Appeal for Remembrance Sunday.

Alan and Mandy Riley have been responsible for ordering wreaths for the Remembrance Service, organising street collections, and delivering poppies and merchandise, such as keyrings and snap band bracelets, to schools and businesses in the town since 1994. However, the couple have been involved in Teignmouth’s poppy appeal for even longer.

Around 50 wreaths are ordered for the Teignmouth Remembrance Service and collections in the town generate around £7,000 a year.

‘I wasn’t in the forces so I thought I could do this to help show my support,’ said Alan. ‘I find it really rewarding, especially when some older people cross the road to put money in the collection box even when they don’t necessarily want to take a poppy,’ he added.

Alan and Mandy are grateful to Byron Beacham and Jamie Ayre at The Brass in Teignmouth, which serves as Teignmouth’s Poppy Appeal base. As well as allowing the Appeal to use the pub to count its collections, Byron and Jamie also run a raffle and organise entertainment to raise money for the Royal British Legion.

A band of volunteers including the town’s Army Cadets, help Alan and Mandy with street collections and counting.

While Remembrance-tide runs for just two weeks of the year, Alan and Mandy keep busy throughout the year; overseeing collection boxes in businesses around the town and administrating donations from funerals.

The Poppy Appeal is the Royal British Legion’s biggest fundraising appeal, held during the Remembrance period in November each year. The money raised is used to provide vital support to serving and ex-serving armed forces personnel and their families. The charity offers advice and guidance, recovery and rehabilitation, and help in transitioning to civilian life.