Great Western Coffee Shop

Free train travel for volunteers selling poppies at City Poppy Days

Volunteers travelling by train to sell poppies in aid of the Royal British Legion at City Poppy Days will receive free travel.

In the South West, First Great Western is offering Poppy Day collectors travelling to one of five city Poppy Days.

Thousands travelled to London for a special City Poppy Day on Thursday, which aimed to raise ^1 million in one day.

Other locations include Plymouth and Birmingham. City Poppy Days in Bristol and Manchester will take place this Thursday.

City Poppy Day collectors qualify for free travel if they fall into one of the following three categories: Those wearing a military uniform; those not in a uniform but carrying military identification; and those not in a uniform but carrying City Poppy Day or Royal British Legion identification.

A spokesman for First Great Western said: ^There is not an offer of free travel for all members of the forces for a period of time, or including Remembrance Sunday. It is specific to Royal British Legion collections attending designated collection events.^

The RBL provides practical, emotional and financial support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present, and their families.

The rail industry has given extensive support to Poppy Day in recent years, including operators providing free travel into participating cities for uniformed collectors, making announcements on trains and welcoming collections teams at stations.

Speaking on behalf of the rail industry, Michael Roberts, director general of the rail delivery group said: "The railway has a long standing record of supporting our armed forces. We are proud to help the vital fundraising work being done by the Royal British Legion across the country for London and City Poppy Days. By offering all their volunteer collectors free rail travel to participating cities we hope to help make this year's event more successful than ever."

The Royal British Legion director of fundraising Charles Byrne said: "We are very grateful to Britain's rail industry for the generous donation of free rail travel to all London and City Poppy Day collectors. We're encouraging people to dig deep for this year's Poppy Appeal, so we can continue providing our vital support to individuals whether they're still serving, transitioning back to civilian life or have left the services, and importantly their families too."